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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “activity widget”

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 “activity widget”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20.

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Activity Logs, User Activity Tracking, Multisite Activity Log from Logtivity shows at wp.org #6 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 3221 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Activity Log – Monitor User and Agent Changes 200K+ · 4.3★ (74) wp.org #1 2 WP Activity Log 300K+ · 4.7★ (490) wp.org #2 3 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #3 4 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #9 4 too low 6 Activity Log Pro – User Activity Log, Audit Log & Security Monitor 400+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #4 2 too high 7 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #8 ↑15 1 too low 8 Stream – Activity Log & Audit Trail 70K+ · 4.3★ (76) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 Poptin – Email Marketing Automation, Newsletter & Exit Pop Ups, Email Popups 20K+ · 4.9★ (701) wp.org #15 6 too low 10 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221) wp.org #17 ↓1 7 too low 11 Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes 300K+ · 4.9★ (491) wp.org #13 ↓1 2 too low 12 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) wp.org #14 2 too low 13 Limit Login Attempts Security – Login Security, 2FA, Firewall, Brute Force Prevention 1M+ · 4.8★ (1489) wp.org #16 ↑1 3 too low 14 Chatway Live Chat – AI Chatbot, Customer Support, FAQ & Helpdesk Customer Service & Chat Buttons 30K+ · 5.0★ (775) wp.org #24 10 too low 15 Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992) wp.org #23 ↓1 8 too low 16 Password Protected 300K+ · 4.4★ (142) wp.org #22 ↓3 6 too low 17 Activity Logs, User Activity Tracking, Multisite Activity Log from Logtivity 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #6 11 too high 18 All-in-one Like Widget 1K+ · 4.9★ (7) wp.org #11 ↓2 7 too high 19 WP User Activity 200+ · 3.3★ (8) wp.org #10 ↓2 9 too high 20 Taggbox: Social Media Feed Widget 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #12 ↓1 8 too high 21 AI 60K+ · 4.2★ (10) wp.org #20 ↓7 1 too high 22 Order List Table Elementor Widget for WooCommerce 400+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #19 ↑1 3 too high 23 Logify WP – Activity Log & User Audit Log 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 Wbcom Designs – Birthday Widget for BuddyPress 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 6 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.