wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “audience”
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 “audience”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 5 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.
Ranked above its merit
Hostinger Reach – AI-Powered Email Marketing for WordPress shows at wp.org #3 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 1M+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 8 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833)
wp.org #1 2 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #2 3 
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821)
wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too low 4 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5 
Poptin – Email Marketing Automation, Newsletter & Exit Pop Ups, Email Popups 20K+ · 4.9★ (701)
wp.org #8 ↑2 3 too low 6 
Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186)
wp.org #6 ↑1 7 
Nav Menu Roles 70K+ · 4.9★ (219)
wp.org #7 8 
Email Marketing for WooCommerce by Omnisend 40K+ · 4.9★ (169)
wp.org #9 ↑3 1 too low 9 
WP Chat App 100K+ · 4.9★ (222)
wp.org #10 ↑1 1 too low 10 
FluentCRM – Email Newsletter, Automation, Email Marketing, Email Campaigns, Optins, Leads, and CRM Solution 80K+ · 4.8★ (250)
wp.org #12 ↑4 2 too low 11 
Pixel Manager for WooCommerce – Conversion Tracking, Google Ads, GA4, TikTok, Dynamic Remarketing 40K+ · 4.9★ (399)
wp.org #14 3 too low 12 
WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (758)
wp.org #11 ↑7 1 too high 13 
Slider, Gallery, and Carousel by MetaSlider – Image Slider, Video Slider 500K+ · 4.6★ (743)
wp.org #15 ↓2 2 too low 14 
LightStart – Maintenance Mode, Coming Soon and Landing Page Builder 400K+ · 4.3★ (874)
wp.org #16 ↑7 2 too low 15 
SlimStat Analytics – Real-Time Stats, Heatmaps & Ecommerce 70K+ · 4.8★ (816)
wp.org #23 8 too low 16 
WP ULike – Like Buttons, Voting & Engagement Analytics 60K+ · 4.8★ (283)
wp.org #19 ↑1 3 too low 17 
Mailchimp for WooCommerce 200K+ · 4.0★ (726)
wp.org #18 ↓10 1 too low 18 
Connect Contact Form 7 to Mailchimp, Brevo, MailerLite, Klaviyo, GetResponse, EmailOctopus, Campaign Monitor & Moosend 40K+ · 4.3★ (190)
wp.org #17 ↑2 1 too high 19 Hostinger Reach – AI-Powered Email Marketing for WordPress 1M+ · 5.0★ (8) host-installed base thin reviews
wp.org #3 16 too high 20 
My Calendar – Accessible Event Manager 20K+ · 4.7★ (159)
wp.org #21 ↓6 1 too low 21 
Brevo – Email, SMS, Web Push, Chat, and more. 100K+ · 4.1★ (284)
wp.org #22 1 too low 22 
Pixel Cat – Conversion Pixel Manager 40K+ · 4.0★ (41)
wp.org #20 ↑1 2 too high 23 
Google for WooCommerce 800K+ · 2.7★ (268)
wp.org #13 ↓4 10 too high 24 
Jetpack Social 30K+ · 3.3★ (74)
wp.org #24 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.