wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “already”
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 “already”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 4 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
Publish To Apple News shows at wp.org #14 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 4K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.8★ average from 25 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Shortcodes Ultimate – Content Elements places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 5925 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #1 2 
Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks 1M+ · 4.7★ (1872)
wp.org #2 3 
UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8709)
wp.org #3 4 
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27820)
wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 
Autoptimize 800K+ · 4.7★ (1428)
wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too high 6 
Database Addon for Contact Form 7 – CFDB7 600K+ · 5.0★ (1875)
wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too low 7 
Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667)
wp.org #6 ↑5 1 too high 8 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #8 ↓1 9 
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #9 ↓1 10 
Starter Templates: AI-Powered Website Templates for Elementor & Gutenberg 1M+ · 4.9★ (4755)
wp.org #11 ↑1 1 too low 11 Shortcodes Ultimate – Content Elements 400K+ · 4.9★ (5925)
wp.org #15 ↓6 4 too low 12 
The SEO Framework – Fast, Automated, Effortless. 200K+ · 4.9★ (380)
wp.org #13 ↑1 1 too low 13 
WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (199)
wp.org #12 ↑1 1 too high 14 
ICS Calendar 10K+ · 4.9★ (72)
wp.org #10 4 too high 15 
Business Directory Plugin – Easy Listing & Member Directories for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (504)
wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too low 16 
All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231)
wp.org #18 ↓2 2 too low 17 
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281)
wp.org #20 3 too low 18 
Mercado Pago payments for WooCommerce 100K+ · 3.9★ (693)
wp.org #19 1 too low 19 
bbPress 100K+ · 3.9★ (343)
wp.org #17 2 too high 20 
FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410)
wp.org #21 ↑3 1 too low 21 
WP Rollback – Rollback Plugins and Themes 200K+ · 4.9★ (215)
wp.org #24 ↓6 3 too low 22 
BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323)
wp.org #23 ↓1 1 too low 23 
Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184)
wp.org #22 1 too high 24 Publish To Apple News 4K+ · 3.8★ (25)
wp.org #14 ↑5 10 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.