wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “application insights”

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 “application insights”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

Users Insights Lite – User Management, Analytics & WooCommerce Reports shows at wp.org #5 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 19 places. Its 20+ 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.

Buried gem

SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 1267 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) not PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #1 2

AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too low 3

Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too low 4

Matomo Analytics – Powerful, Privacy-First Insights for WordPress 100K+ · 4.6★ (178) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #2 ↑1 2 too high 5

Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #10 ↑5 5 too low 6

WP Data Access – App Builder for Tables, Forms, Dashboards, Charts & Maps 10K+ · 4.9★ (88) wp.org #7 ↑3 1 too low 7

Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #13 ↓4 6 too low 8

W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #15 ↑1 7 too low 9

Plausible Analytics 10K+ · 5.0★ (29) wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too high 10

SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO 300K+ · 4.8★ (1267) wp.org #19 9 too low 11

MalCare WordPress Security Plugin – Malware Scanner, Cleaner, Security Firewall 100K+ · 4.4★ (559) wp.org #16 ↑3 5 too low 12

SureForms – Contact Form Builder, AI Forms, Payment Form, Survey & Quiz 500K+ · 4.8★ (102) wp.org #14 ↓3 2 too low 13

MetForm – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Conditional Forms, Form Templates & Custom Form Builder for Elementor 500K+ · 4.7★ (509) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #12 ↑1 1 too high 14

FluentCRM – Email Newsletter, Automation, Email Marketing, Email Campaigns, Optins, Leads, and CRM Solution 80K+ · 4.8★ (250) wp.org #20 ↑2 6 too low 15

WPO365 | SEAMLESS WORDPRESS + MICROSOFT INTEGRATION (WPO365 | LOGIN) 10K+ · 4.9★ (154) wp.org #21 6 too low 16

Sucuri Security – Auditing, Malware Scanner and Security Hardening 600K+ · 4.2★ (386) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #11 ↑3 5 too high 17

WP Crontrol 300K+ · 4.4★ (167) wp.org #18 1 too low 18

WPO365 | MICROSOFT 365 GRAPH MAILER 10K+ · 5.0★ (40) wp.org #17 1 too high 19

PhastPress 10K+ · 4.9★ (99) wp.org #24 5 too low 20

Google for WooCommerce 800K+ · 2.7★ (268) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #6 14 too high 21

Opti-Behavior – Self-Hosted Heatmaps, Funnels, A/B Testing & Smart Insights 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #9 ↑3 12 too high 22

WPBot – AI ChatBot for Live Support, Lead Generation, WordPress Automation, AI Services 5K+ · 4.7★ (124) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #23 ↑1 1 too low 23

ThinkRank SEO – AI SEO Plugin for SEO & Google Search Console 20K+ · 4.9★ (36) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #22 ↑1 1 too high 24

Users Insights Lite – User Management, Analytics & WooCommerce Reports 20+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #5 ↑3 19 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.