wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “2.0”
wp.org orders by popularity, so a plugin a host bundled onto millions of sites, or a big-brand one that's slow and mediocre, can sit at the top. Our ranking is built to answer a different question: which of these is actually worth installing. How this works →
For “2.0”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 4 plugins are pushed down for signals wp.org ignores: errors, a host-installed base, or removal risk.
wp.org search ranks on
Install count (uncapped), the raw star average, freshness, and support. Popularity dominates, so the biggest install base usually wins regardless of how it got there.
We add
A cap on the install boost, volume-weighted ratings, and signals wp.org can't see: whether it throws errors on current PHP, whether the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.
Ranked above its merit
Button Block – Stylish buttons that get more clicks shows at wp.org #10 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 5K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Sticky Menu & Sticky Header places #12 on merit, 4.7★ from 763 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Translate WordPress with Weglot 2.0 – Multilingual AI Translation 50K+ · 4.8★ (1940)
wp.org #1 2 
Payment Plugins for Stripe WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.8★ (303) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #2 3 
PDF Invoices & Packing Slips for WooCommerce 300K+ · 5.0★ (1865) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #3 4 
OAuth Single Sign On – SSO (OAuth Client) 6K+ · 4.9★ (327)
wp.org #6 2 too low 5 
Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433)
wp.org #14 9 too low 6 
BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) not PHP-current
wp.org #8 2 too low 7 
WPGet API – Connect to any external REST API 10K+ · 5.0★ (32)
wp.org #7 8 
Seraphinite Accelerator 50K+ · 4.8★ (476) not PHP-current
wp.org #11 3 too low 9 
One Click Demo Import 1M+ · 4.3★ (79) host-installed base
wp.org #5 4 too high 10 
GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155)
wp.org #9 1 too high 11 
Royal MCP – Secure AI Connector for Claude, ChatGPT & any LLM via MCP 10K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #4 7 too high 12 Sticky Menu & Sticky Header 90K+ · 4.7★ (763)
wp.org #22 10 too low 13 
WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (199)
wp.org #19 6 too low 14 
Disable All WordPress Updates 20K+ · 4.8★ (69)
wp.org #15 1 too low 15 
White Label CMS 200K+ · 4.7★ (114)
wp.org #18 3 too low 16 
User Switching 200K+ · 4.9★ (238)
wp.org #24 8 too low 17 
Pronamic Pay 2K+ · 4.8★ (84) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #12 5 too high 18 
Gmail SMTP 10K+ · 4.1★ (103)
wp.org #16 2 too high 19 
JWT Authentication for WP REST APIs 10K+ · 4.4★ (74)
wp.org #17 2 too high 20 
GSheetConnector – CF7 Google Sheets Connector & Save CF7 Entries to Database 40K+ · 4.4★ (129) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #13 7 too high 21 
Meow Mailer – Free SMTP, Everything Included 900+ · 5.0★ (25)
wp.org #23 2 too low 22 
3D Viewer – Turn Product Pages into Interactive 3D Experiences 9K+ · 4.7★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #20 2 too high 23 Button Block – Stylish buttons that get more clicks 5K+ · 5.0★ (7) not PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #10 13 too high 24 
Customify 10K+ · 3.8★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #21 3 too high Merit ranking caps the install boost at 1M (wp.org leaves it uncapped), replaces the raw star average with a volume-weighted Bayesian score and a Wilson lower bound, and keeps wp.org's own freshness and compatibility decays. Method from the plugin-directory source; see Meta Trac #8298. Positions are tracked daily from the first visit to a keyword, so the small arrows show movement since tracking began.