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

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 “apcu”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

IP Locator shows at wp.org #10 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin wp.org
1 APCu Manager 10K+ · 4.6★ (20) wp.org #1 2 SQLite Object Cache 10K+ · 5.0★ (50) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 atec Cache APCu 3K+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 atec Cache Info 1K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Powered Cache – Caching and Optimization for WordPress – Easily Improve PageSpeed & Web Vitals Score 3K+ · 4.8★ (58) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 Internal Links Manager 10K+ · 4.8★ (33) wp.org #24 17 too low 8 Mega Cache 60+ · 4.7★ (7) wp.org #12 4 too low 9 Cache Master 400+ · 4.8★ (16) wp.org #22 13 too low 10 The Cache Purger 1K+ · 4.5★ (6) wp.org #11 1 too low 11 Object Cache for APCu – ZapCu 200+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #5 6 too high 12 Optimal State – Advanced Optimization, Performance & Security Suite 40+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too low 13 {eac}ObjectCache – a persistent object cache using SQLite & APCu to cache WordPress objects. 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #9 4 too high 14 UltraCache – Cache and Speed Optimization 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 1 too high 15 ZenPress 70+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 1 too high 16 Clear Cache Everywhere 900+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 9 too high 17 Prime Cache – Page Cache & Core Web Vitals (Zero Config) 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 ↓1 18 DD Ad Manager – Advertising & Banner Management 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 19 Byot Cache Cleaner — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 20 IP Locator 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 10 too high 21 Yac Object Cache — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↑2 6 too high 22 OzuLabs Turbo Search for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 2 too high 23 Zero Ad Network — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 Baskerville AI Security — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 1 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.