wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “advice”
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 “advice”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 of the top 20. 3 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
GDPR tools: Cookie notice + privacy shows at wp.org #7 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 5K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection places #11 on merit, 4.6★ from 3992 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Maintenance 1M+ · 4.4★ (869)
wp.org #1 2 
All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720)
wp.org #2 3 
Under Construction 600K+ · 4.8★ (1285)
wp.org #3 ↑1 4 
Sticky Menu & Sticky Header 90K+ · 4.7★ (763)
wp.org #5 ↓2 1 too low 5 
WP Reset 300K+ · 4.8★ (1014)
wp.org #8 ↓1 3 too low 6 D Disable Emojis (GDPR friendly) 60K+ · 5.0★ (108)
wp.org #9 ↓1 3 too low 7 
MainWP Child – Securely Connects to the MainWP Dashboard to Manage Multiple Sites 700K+ · 5.0★ (71) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #4 ↑1 3 too high 8 
Htaccess File Editor – Safely Edit Htaccess File 40K+ · 5.0★ (102)
wp.org #10 ↓1 2 too low 9 
TermsFeed AutoTerms: Privacy Policy Generator, Cookie Consent, GDPR, CCPA, Terms & Conditions, Disclaimers, Cookies Policy, EULA 70K+ · 4.7★ (246)
wp.org #12 ↓1 3 too low 10 
Simple Author Box 90K+ · 4.3★ (115) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #6 4 too high 11 Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992)
wp.org #20 ↓3 9 too low 12 
Minimal Coming Soon – Coming Soon Page 100K+ · 4.3★ (282)
wp.org #17 ↓2 5 too low 13 
WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346)
wp.org #18 ↑2 5 too low 14 
WP RSS Aggregator – RSS Import, Feed to Post, Autoblogging, AI Content 40K+ · 4.5★ (565)
wp.org #24 ↓5 10 too low 15 
Imagify Image Optimization: Optimize Images | Compress & Convert to WebP/AVIF 900K+ · 4.3★ (1656)
wp.org #22 ↓4 7 too low 16 
301 Redirects & 404 Error Log 30K+ · 4.6★ (28)
wp.org #11 ↓1 5 too high 17 
Spam Destroyer 5K+ · 4.6★ (54)
wp.org #14 ↓1 3 too high 18 
External Links – nofollow, noopener & new window 90K+ · 4.3★ (247) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #13 ↓1 5 too high 19 GDPR tools: Cookie notice + privacy 5K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #7 12 too high 20 
Index WP MySQL For Speed 50K+ · 4.8★ (99) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #21 ↑1 1 too low 21 
Protect Uploads 30K+ · 4.8★ (12) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↓2 5 too high 22 
WP Frontend Delete Account 4K+ · 4.6★ (27)
wp.org #23 ↓2 1 too low 23 
GDPR Tools: comment ip removement 2K+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #15 8 too high 24 
Record of Consent Extension for Complianz 700+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #19 ↓3 5 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.