wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “any post”
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 “any post”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20. 5 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
WP Clone any post type shows at wp.org #11 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 400+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.7★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296)
wp.org #1 2 
Use Any Font | Custom Font Uploader 200K+ · 4.7★ (1148)
wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too low 3 
Yoast Duplicate Post 3M+ · 4.7★ (538) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #2 ↑1 1 too high 4 
Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528)
wp.org #5 ↓3 1 too low 5 
Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1236)
wp.org #7 ↑11 2 too low 6 
Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (587)
wp.org #6 ↓1 7 
Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276)
wp.org #4 ↑2 3 too high 8 
Schedule Post Changes With PublishPress Future: Unpublish, Delete, Change Status, Trash, Change Categories 100K+ · 4.5★ (172)
wp.org #9 ↓2 1 too low 9 
Post Duplicator 200K+ · 4.8★ (80)
wp.org #8 1 too high 10 
Post Type Switcher 200K+ · 4.8★ (255)
wp.org #12 ↓1 2 too low 11 
The Post Grid – Shortcode, Gutenberg Blocks and Elementor Addon for Post Grid 100K+ · 4.8★ (265)
wp.org #13 ↓1 2 too low 12 
AddToAny Share Buttons 300K+ · 4.7★ (1114) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #10 ↓1 2 too high 13 
Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1525)
wp.org #21 ↑2 8 too low 14 
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint
wp.org #19 ↓4 5 too low 15 
Smart Post – Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider Gutenberg Blocks for Blog & News 20K+ · 4.7★ (210) heavy footprint
wp.org #18 ↓2 3 too low 16 
WP All Export – Drag & Drop Export to Any Custom CSV, XML & Excel 100K+ · 4.5★ (415)
wp.org #23 ↓3 7 too low 17 
Public Post Preview 100K+ · 4.6★ (79)
wp.org #17 ↓3 18 
Rate My Post – Star Rating Plugin by FeedbackWP 20K+ · 4.7★ (159) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #15 ↑2 3 too high 19 
Post Grid 30K+ · 4.3★ (163)
wp.org #22 3 too low 20 
Contact Form to Any API 8K+ · 5.0★ (28) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #14 ↓1 6 too high 21 
Display Post Types – Post Grid, post list and post sliders 8K+ · 5.0★ (26) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too high 22 
Duplicate Post – duplicate pages, copy content, clone posts 5K+ · 4.7★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #16 6 too high 23 
Add Any Extension to Pages 2K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #24 ↓3 1 too low 24 WP Clone any post type 400+ · 3.7★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #11 ↓1 13 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.