wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “all”

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 “all”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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

All In One Login shows at wp.org #11 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 60K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.6★ average from 35 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI places #6 on merit, 4.8★ from 27821 reviews, but shows at wp.org #10. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) not PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #1 2

All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676) wp.org #2 ↑1 3

All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #3 ↓1 4

WP All Import – Drag & Drop Import for CSV, XML, Excel & Google Sheets 100K+ · 4.7★ (1966) wp.org #6 2 too low 5

Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641) wp.org #4 1 too high 6

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #10 ↑6 4 too low 7

Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157) wp.org #5 2 too high 8

Export All URLs 50K+ · 4.6★ (94) wp.org #7 1 too high 9

LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #12 ↓4 3 too low 10

Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #9 ↑5 1 too high 11

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #14 ↓4 3 too low 12

Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #16 ↓3 4 too low 13

WP All Export – Drag & Drop Export to Any Custom CSV, XML & Excel 100K+ · 4.5★ (415) wp.org #13 ↓2 14

All 404 Redirect to Homepage 200K+ · 4.1★ (96) wp.org #8 ↑1 6 too high 15

Easy Social Feed – All In One Social Feed Plugin for WordPress 30K+ · 4.6★ (502) wp.org #17 2 too low 16

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint wp.org #22 ↓2 6 too low 17

Invisible Anti-Spam & CAPTCHA — reCAPTCHA Alternative for All Forms 4K+ · 4.8★ (50) wp.org #15 ↓3 2 too high 18

All In One Login 60K+ · 3.6★ (35) wp.org #11 7 too high 19

WP Comment Cleaner – Delete All Comments, Disable Comments, Bulk Delete & Remove Comments 20K+ · 4.7★ (58) wp.org #23 ↓2 4 too low 20

Intranet & Private Site – All-In-One Intranet 3K+ · 5.0★ (11) thin reviews wp.org #24 ↓2 4 too low 21

Delete All Products for WooCommerce 4K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #19 ↓2 2 too high 22

WP All Import – Import Add-On for ACF 50K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #20 ↓2 2 too high 23

VK All in One Expansion Unit 100K+ · 4.0★ (7) host-installed base thin reviews wp.org #18 ↓3 5 too high 24

WP All Import – Import SEO Settings for All In One SEO 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #21 ↓2 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.