wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “assistance”
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 “assistance”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 3 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
Jotform – AI Chatbot shows at wp.org #13 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 5K+ 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
AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 874 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Mail Mint – Email Marketing, Automation & WooCommerce Emails with AI Assistance 4K+ · 4.7★ (125)
wp.org #1 2 
Polylang 900K+ · 4.7★ (3004)
wp.org #2 3 
Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528)
wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 
Limit Login Attempts Security – Login Security, 2FA, Firewall, Brute Force Prevention 1M+ · 4.8★ (1488)
wp.org #7 3 too low 5 
WP 2FA – Two-factor authentication for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (184)
wp.org #6 1 too low 6 
Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418)
wp.org #8 2 too low 7 
Media File Renamer: Rename Images & Files for SEO (AI-Powered) 40K+ · 4.6★ (447)
wp.org #11 ↑5 4 too low 8 
WooPayments: Integrated WooCommerce Payments 800K+ · 3.4★ (177) throws errorsnot PHP-current low rating, top placement
wp.org #3 ↑1 5 too high 9 
MxChat – AI Chatbot & Content Generation for WordPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (31) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #5 4 too high 10 
Custom Permalinks 100K+ · 4.1★ (116)
wp.org #9 1 too high 11 AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874)
wp.org #18 7 too low 12 
WP-Members Membership Plugin 50K+ · 4.6★ (272)
wp.org #15 ↑9 3 too low 13 U Unique Headers 10K+ · 4.9★ (160) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #10 3 too high 14 
Chat Button & Custom ChatGPT-Powered Bot by GetButton.io 20K+ · 4.5★ (175)
wp.org #14 ↑1 15 
Advanced File Manager – Ultimate File Manager for WordPress And Document Library Solution 100K+ · 4.8★ (441)
wp.org #19 ↑4 4 too low 16 
Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4358)
wp.org #22 ↓5 6 too low 17 
Templately – Elementor & Gutenberg Template Library: 6500+ Free & Pro Ready Templates And Cloud! 300K+ · 5.0★ (383)
wp.org #20 ↑1 3 too low 18 
SMTP2GO for WordPress – Email Made Easy 40K+ · 5.0★ (67)
wp.org #17 ↑3 1 too high 19 
Events Made Easy 1K+ · 4.6★ (111)
wp.org #24 5 too low 20 
Disable Comments 100K+ · 3.8★ (25)
wp.org #12 ↑2 8 too high 21 
Advanced Shipment Tracking for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.5★ (355) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #23 ↓10 2 too low 22 
Prisna GWT – Google Website Translator 8K+ · 4.5★ (54)
wp.org #21 ↑1 1 too high 23 
AIT AI Admin Assistance 30+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↑2 7 too high 24 Jotform – AI Chatbot 5K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #13 ↓1 11 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.