Gutenberg still has no native timeline block, so anyone trying to put a company history, a product roadmap, or an event schedule on a page has to reach for a dedicated timeline block plugin for WordPress. This post compares three real options built for the block editor: Cool Timeline, Timeline Block by bPlugins, and Advanced Timeline Block. Short version: Cool Timeline is the strongest free pick if you might also want a shortcode or a Bricks Builder version later, Timeline Block is worth the one-time fee if you want a library of ready-made layouts, and Advanced Timeline Block is the one to install if you want a timeline with no upsell screens at all.
| Plugin | Best for | Price | Last updated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cool Timeline | Teams who want a block today and a shortcode or Bricks Builder option later | Free, Pro from $29/year | October 15, 2026 |
| Timeline Block (bPlugins) | Sites that will eventually want 35+ ready-made timeline templates | Free, Pro from $29.99 one-time | October 1, 2026 |
| Advanced Timeline Block | Anyone who wants a timeline block with zero Pro upsells | Free, no Pro version | September 9, 2026 |
Cool Timeline
Cool Timeline is built by Narinder Singh’s Cool Plugins team, the same company behind cooltimeline.com, and it is the only one of these three that isn’t locked to the block editor alone. The free version gives you a Gutenberg timeline block, a shortcode you can drop into the classic editor or any widget area, and, if the site runs Bricks Builder, a dedicated Story Timeline element you drag onto the page without touching a shortcode. That three-way coverage is the real differentiator: if a client’s site mixes editors, or might move off Gutenberg later, Cool Timeline is the one option here that doesn’t force a rebuild.
- Price: Free, Pro from $29/year (1 site)
- Requires: WordPress 5.6+, PHP 5.6+
- Last updated: October 15, 2026
Setup doesn’t start with the block. Install and activate Cool Timeline from Plugins > Add New, then create each timeline entry as its own post: a title, a description, a date, and an optional image. The plugin pulls those posts into chronological order automatically, so the content and the display are separate from the start. Once a few entries exist, add the Timeline block from the block inserter (or paste the [cool-timeline] shortcode, or drag the Story Timeline element in Bricks) and it renders them as a vertical slider.
The free version’s real ceiling: vertical layout only, horizontal is Pro-only. Dates are also restricted to 1970 onward in the free tier; Pro opens that up to any year from 1000 to 2050, or lets you swap in custom text instead of a date. If a project needs a horizontal roadmap, or a historical timeline that predates 1970, that’s a Pro purchase, not a free-tier workaround.
Timeline Block (bPlugins)
Timeline Block by bPlugins takes the opposite approach from Cool Timeline: it’s block-only from the start, with no shortcode and no page-builder element, but it backs that block with by far the deepest Pro catalog of the three. The free tier gives you a working horizontal or vertical timeline with two themes. The Pro upgrade adds fifteen specialized block variants on top of the base timeline: an Accordion Timeline, a Company History Timeline with a clickable year rail, a Career Timeline, a Media Story Timeline, an Event Schedule block, a Roadmap Timeline, a Year Navigator, and an AI content generator that drafts timeline entries for you, among others. No other plugin in this comparison comes close to that range of purpose-built layouts.
- Price: Free, Pro from $29.99 one-time (single site, lifetime access)
- Requires: WordPress 6.5+, PHP 7.4+
- Last updated: October 1, 2026
Setup is a straight block-editor flow: install and activate the plugin, open the block inserter in a post or page, search “Timeline Block,” and add it from the Widgets category. The block settings sidebar handles layout (horizontal or vertical), start index, item count, and theme. There’s no separate dashboard screen or custom post type to learn first, which is the simplest onboarding of the three.
The honest tradeoff is the WordPress and PHP floor: 6.5 and 7.4 respectively are the newest requirements here, and will rule it out on an older or more conservative host. The free tier is also genuinely thin next to its own Pro version. Two themes and a layout toggle is the whole free feature set; every one of the specialized block types that makes this plugin interesting sits behind the $29.99 purchase.
Advanced Timeline Block
Advanced Timeline Block is built by independent developer Zakaria Binsaifullah, and the thing that sets it apart from the other two isn’t a feature, it’s the absence of one: there’s no Pro version, no upsell screen, and no business model declared on WordPress.org at all. Every feature in its readme, including unlimited timeline items and unlimited separate timelines on one site, is in the plugin you install for free. It’s also the only one of the three built with nothing but native Gutenberg components; the developer’s own description is explicit that it avoids any block-builder dependency, and since version 2.2.0 it dropped its icon font library entirely in favor of inline SVG markers, which keeps the output lighter than either competitor’s.
- Price: Free, no Pro version
- Requires: WordPress 6.0+, PHP 7.0+
- Last updated: September 9, 2026
Activate the plugin, open the block editor, and add Advanced Timeline Block from its own “Timeline Block” category in the inserter. Each timeline item gets added with one click from the block toolbar, and every visual detail, colors, spacing, borders, icon choice, box shadow, runs through the block’s own settings sidebar rather than a separate options page. One reviewer who’d used it for a couple of years singled out the ability to run multiple independent timelines on one site, which several competing free tiers cap at one.
The real limitation is scope, not quality: there is no horizontal layout option in any tier, free or otherwise, since there is no otherwise. If a project specifically needs a horizontal roadmap slider, this plugin doesn’t do it and never will unless that changes in a future release. It’s also a much smaller plugin by adoption than the other two, though its nine reviews are unanimously five stars and it’s been actively maintained since 2021.
How to Pick a Timeline Block Plugin
- If the site mixes the block editor with the classic editor or Bricks Builder, or might switch away from Gutenberg later, use Cool Timeline.
- If you want a single timeline block now with the option to unlock a whole library of specialized layouts (career, roadmap, event schedule, company history) later for a one-time fee, use Timeline Block.
- If you want a working timeline today with no trial countdown, no “Pro” button in the settings panel, and don’t need a horizontal layout, use Advanced Timeline Block.
- If the site needs a historical timeline dated before 1970, that rules out Cool Timeline’s free tier specifically; Timeline Block or Advanced Timeline Block don’t have that restriction.
Timeline isn’t the only content type Gutenberg still leaves out. We’ve covered the same gap before for tabs, a table of contents, and a carousel. The pattern repeats each time: a small handful of dedicated plugins fill in a block WordPress core hasn’t shipped, and the right pick comes down to how far past the free tier you expect to need. If none of these three fit a specific layout a project actually needs, our Plugin Development team builds custom Gutenberg blocks directly, including a timeline built to an exact spec rather than whatever a plugin’s free tier allows.
FAQ
Does WordPress have a built-in timeline block?
No. As of the current WordPress release, Gutenberg has no native timeline block. Adding one to a page requires a plugin like the three compared here, or a custom block built for the site.
Can I add a timeline to WordPress without installing a plugin?
Yes, with a caveat. TimelineJS is a free external tool: you build the timeline on its site, then embed the resulting iframe code into a Custom HTML block. It looks polished but it’s not a native part of the page, and it depends on an outside service staying online.
Which of these timeline plugins works with the classic editor?
Only Cool Timeline. Its shortcode works in the classic editor, in a widget, or in Gutenberg; the other two are block-only.
Can I build a horizontal timeline for free with any of these?
Not with any of the three as of this comparison. Cool Timeline and Timeline Block both gate horizontal layouts behind their Pro versions, and Advanced Timeline Block doesn’t offer a horizontal layout in any tier.
Do any of these work with Elementor?
No, all three are built for the block editor specifically. Cool Plugins (the team behind Cool Timeline) sells a separate product called Timeline Widget for Elementor, but it’s a different plugin with its own listing, not a feature of Cool Timeline itself.
