wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “app menu”
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 “app menu”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 8 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
App Builder – Create Native Android & iOS Apps On The Flight shows at wp.org #4 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.9★ average from 8 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 7519 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528)
wp.org #2 ↓1 1 too low 2 
Float menu – awesome floating side menu 30K+ · 4.4★ (41)
wp.org #1 ↑1 1 too high 3 
WP Chat App 100K+ · 4.9★ (222)
wp.org #3 ↑1 4 
WP Data Access – App Builder for Tables, Forms, Dashboards, Charts & Maps 10K+ · 4.9★ (88)
wp.org #5 ↑8 1 too low 5 
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint
wp.org #9 4 too low 6 
Social Chat – Click To Chat App Button 200K+ · 4.9★ (696) not PHP-current
wp.org #11 5 too low 7 
Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423)
wp.org #14 ↑1 7 too low 8 
Super Progressive Web Apps 40K+ · 4.6★ (225)
wp.org #12 4 too low 9 
AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874)
wp.org #19 10 too low 10 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519)
wp.org #21 ↓2 11 too low 11 
Five Star Restaurant Menu and Food Ordering 5K+ · 4.6★ (107) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #8 ↓1 3 too high 12 
CF7 Apps – Addons for Contact Form 7 (Honeypot, Database, Redirection, Webhook, etc.) 300K+ · 3.8★ (135) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #6 ↓3 6 too high 13 
Ads.txt & App-ads.txt Manager for WordPress 2K+ · 4.8★ (48) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #7 ↓2 6 too high 14 
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) not PHP-current
wp.org #17 3 too low 15 
WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #13 ↓3 2 too high 16 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #16 17 
Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612)
wp.org #24 ↓4 7 too low 18 App Builder – Create Native Android & iOS Apps On The Flight 500+ · 3.9★ (8) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #4 14 too high 19 
AppMySite – WordPress & WooCommerce Mobile App Builder (No-Code Android & iOS App Maker) 7K+ · 4.3★ (138) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #20 ↓2 1 too low 20 
WappPress – Convert Site to App Fast – WordPress to Mobile App Builder 1K+ · 3.6★ (39) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #15 ↓1 5 too high 21 
Mobile Smart App Banner 300+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #10 ↓2 11 too high 22 
Mobile App Canvas – Convert your Website Into an App for iOS and Android 200+ · 4.2★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #22 23 
Management App for WooCommerce – Order notifications, Order management, Lead management, Uptime Monitoring 800+ · 4.0★ (9) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↓2 5 too high 24 
The Menu: Custom mobile navigation with icons 400+ · 5.0★ (1) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #23 ↓2 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.