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

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 “apart”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

Hizzle CAPTCHA – Protect your forms from spam shows at wp.org #13 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

FileBird – WordPress Media Library Folders & File Manager places #4 on merit, 4.7★ from 1125 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 wp.org
1 Photonic Gallery & Lightbox for Flickr, SmugMug & Others 10K+ · 4.8★ (193) wp.org #1 2 My WordPress Login Logo 10K+ · 4.9★ (12) wp.org #2 3 Imagify Image Optimization: Optimize Images | Compress & Convert to WebP/AVIF 900K+ · 4.3★ (1656) wp.org #7 ↓1 4 too low 4 FileBird – WordPress Media Library Folders & File Manager 200K+ · 4.7★ (1125) wp.org #10 ↑2 6 too low 5 Disable WordPress Update Notifications and auto-update Email Notifications 10K+ · 4.2★ (19) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 Rate My Post – Star Rating Plugin by FeedbackWP 20K+ · 4.7★ (159) wp.org #5 ↑3 1 too high 7 YayMail – WooCommerce Email Customizer 50K+ · 4.8★ (291) wp.org #12 ↑5 5 too low 8 Manual Image Crop 7K+ · 4.1★ (56) wp.org #4 ↑1 4 too high 9 Page Speed Optimizer: HTTP/2 Push, Async JavaScript, and Defer CSS 6K+ · 4.7★ (64) wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too high 10 EventPrime – Events Calendar, Bookings, Tickets & AI 7K+ · 4.4★ (85) wp.org #6 ↓2 4 too high 11 WP Extended Search 20K+ · 4.9★ (72) wp.org #11 ↓1 12 Core Framework 10K+ · 5.0★ (41) wp.org #9 3 too high 13 WPVR – 360 Panorama viewer and Virtual Tour Builder for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (133) wp.org #20 ↓7 7 too low 14 404 to 301 – Redirect Manager, 301 Redirection, 404 Error Logs & 404 Monitoring 100K+ · 4.7★ (321) wp.org #24 ↓1 10 too low 15 picu – Online Photo Proofing Gallery 2K+ · 4.7★ (55) wp.org #19 4 too low 16 Dokan: AI Powered WooCommerce Multivendor Marketplace Solution – Build Your Own Amazon, eBay, Etsy 30K+ · 4.6★ (769) wp.org #23 ↓1 7 too low 17 Smart Coupons For WooCommerce Coupons 30K+ · 4.7★ (133) wp.org #18 1 too low 18 WebToffee WooCommerce PDF Invoices, Packing Slips, Delivery Notes & Shipping Labels 50K+ · 4.9★ (285) wp.org #22 4 too low 19 MxChat – AI Chatbot & Content Generation for WordPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (31) wp.org #15 ↑3 4 too high 20 WP MapIt 2K+ · 4.7★ (11) wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too high 21 Login with Vipps and MobilePay 900+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #14 7 too high 22 AI Image Alt Text Generator – Imagerr AI 100+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #17 ↓1 5 too high 23 Hizzle CAPTCHA – Protect your forms from spam 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 ↓2 10 too high 24 Qode Essential Addons 10K+ · 2.8★ (6) wp.org #21 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.