wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “assign”
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 “assign”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20.
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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.
Ranked above its merit
Guest Order Assigner shows at wp.org #7 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.2★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress places #8 on merit, 4.6★ from 1205 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281)
wp.org #1 2 
Relevanssi – A Better Search 100K+ · 4.8★ (406)
wp.org #2 3 
TranslatePress – Translate Multilingual sites with AI Translation 400K+ · 4.7★ (1667)
wp.org #3 4 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #4 5 
Use Any Font | Custom Font Uploader 200K+ · 4.7★ (1148)
wp.org #6 1 too low 6 
Import and export users and customers 70K+ · 4.7★ (259)
wp.org #5 1 too high 7 
Site Reviews 60K+ · 4.9★ (376)
wp.org #12 ↓2 5 too low 8 Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205)
wp.org #15 ↑1 7 too low 9 
Coupon Affiliates – Affiliate Plugin for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.9★ (77)
wp.org #10 ↑4 1 too low 10 
User Role Editor 700K+ · 4.5★ (288)
wp.org #11 1 too low 11 
Auto Featured Image (Auto Post Thumbnail) 40K+ · 3.8★ (119)
wp.org #9 ↓1 2 too high 12 
Featured Image from URL (FIFU) 60K+ · 4.6★ (264)
wp.org #18 ↑3 6 too low 13 
Portfolio Filter Gallery – Photo Gallery 20K+ · 4.8★ (348)
wp.org #23 10 too low 14 
Postie 10K+ · 4.7★ (139)
wp.org #19 ↓1 5 too low 15 
Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551)
wp.org #22 7 too low 16 
RegistrationMagic – Custom Registration Forms, User Registration, Payment, and User Login 7K+ · 4.5★ (459)
wp.org #24 8 too low 17 
Enable Abilities for MCP 5K+ · 5.0★ (17) thin reviews
wp.org #14 ↓2 3 too high 18 
Co-Authors Plus 20K+ · 3.5★ (77)
wp.org #16 ↓1 2 too high 19 
Quick Adsense 20K+ · 3.9★ (74)
wp.org #20 1 too low 20 
Genesis Simple Sidebars 10K+ · 4.4★ (27)
wp.org #21 ↓2 1 too low 21 Guest Order Assigner 200+ · 4.2★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #7 14 too high 22 B BP Email Assign Templates 40+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #8 ↑1 14 too high 23 
ThemeRuby Multi Authors – Assign Multiple Writers to Posts 2K+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #13 10 too high 24 
Zealot Bulk Image Assign by SKU for WooCommerce 20+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #17 7 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.