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

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 posts”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 5 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

List all posts by Authors, nested Categories and Titles shows at wp.org #14 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 600+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 10 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

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 3

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

Duplicate Post 300K+ · 4.9★ (1623) wp.org #4 5

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

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #6 7

Export All URLs 50K+ · 4.6★ (94) wp.org #8 9

Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296) wp.org #9 ↑2 10

WP All Export – Drag & Drop Export to Any Custom CSV, XML & Excel 100K+ · 4.5★ (415) wp.org #12 2 too low 11

Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails 100K+ · 4.8★ (215) wp.org #15 3 too low 13

Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641) wp.org #11 ↓1 2 too high 14

Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157) wp.org #10 ↓1 4 too high 15

Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1525) wp.org #24 ↓1 9 too low 16

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5038) heavy footprint wp.org #17 1 too low 17

List category posts 80K+ · 4.7★ (254) wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too low 18 P Posts 2 Posts 9K+ · 4.8★ (101) wp.org #16 2 too high 19

Invisible Anti-Spam & CAPTCHA — reCAPTCHA Alternative for All Forms 4K+ · 4.8★ (50) wp.org #19 20

Category Posts Block 40K+ · 4.5★ (79) wp.org #23 ↓1 2 too low 22

Yoast Duplicate Post 3M+ · 4.7★ (538) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #18 4 too high 23

List all posts by Authors, nested Categories and Titles 600+ · 5.0★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #14 9 too high 24

VK All in One Expansion Unit 100K+ · 4.0★ (7) host-installed base thin reviews wp.org #22 ↓1 2 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.