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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “admin productivity”

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 “admin productivity”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 2 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

Barmaton Quick Admin Logout shows at wp.org #7 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 70+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 2528 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Assistant – Every Day Productivity Apps 4K+ · 4.9★ (15) wp.org #1 2 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too low 3 Admin Page Spider 1K+ · 4.8★ (22) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1525) wp.org #10 ↑1 6 too low 5 OpenStation – Admin Dashboard Notes, Custom Dashboard, AI Assistant & PWA 1K+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too high 6 FileBird – WordPress Media Library Folders & File Manager 200K+ · 4.7★ (1125) wp.org #11 ↑4 5 too low 7 Adminify – White Label, Admin Menu Editor, Login Customizer 6K+ · 4.3★ (109) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 Duplicate Post 300K+ · 4.9★ (1623) wp.org #14 ↓2 6 too low 9 WP Activity Log 300K+ · 4.7★ (490) wp.org #13 ↓3 4 too low 10 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #22 12 too low 11 Flexible Editor Panel for Elementor 20K+ · 4.9★ (74) wp.org #16 ↑1 5 too low 12 Fluent Support – Helpdesk & Customer Support Ticket System 10K+ · 4.6★ (69) wp.org #18 ↑3 6 too low 13 WP Duplicate Page 60K+ · 4.2★ (16) wp.org #8 5 too high 14 FluentBoards – Project Management, Task Management, Goal Tracking, Kanban Board, and, Team Collaboration 6K+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #19 ↓1 5 too low 15 Noted! 1K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #15 ↓1 16 Unnotifier — disable admin notices individually 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #5 11 too high 17 Sticky Notes for WP Dashboard 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #12 ↑1 5 too high 18 Admin Previous and Next Order Edit Links for Woocommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #9 9 too high 19 Top Bar Links, add custom links to the admin top bar 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #17 ↓1 2 too high 20 Simple Dashboard Todo 100+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #23 3 too low 21 Barmaton Quick Admin Logout 70+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 14 too high 22 HT Contact Form – Drag & Drop Form Builder for WordPress 10K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #21 ↓1 1 too high 23 Creative Addons for Elementor 700+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Beermoney Productivity Toolbox for WooCommerce — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↓1 4 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.