wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “auto share”
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 “auto share”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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
Smart Auto Upload Images – Import External Images shows at wp.org #9 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 5K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 6 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 #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #1 ↑1 2 
SchedulePress – Auto Post & Publish, Auto Social Share, Schedule Posts with Editorial Calendar & Missed Schedule Post Publisher 10K+ · 4.6★ (201)
wp.org #3 ↓2 1 too low 3 
WP2Social Auto Publish 9K+ · 4.8★ (640)
wp.org #4 1 too low 4 
WP LinkedIn Auto Publish 8K+ · 4.8★ (106) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #2 ↑1 2 too high 5 
Social Media Auto Publish 5K+ · 4.7★ (345) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6 
Super Web Share – Native Social Sharing Button 2K+ · 4.9★ (29)
wp.org #5 ↑4 1 too high 7 
Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1668)
wp.org #11 ↑11 4 too low 8 
Blog2Social: Social Media Auto Post & Scheduler 40K+ · 4.5★ (2107) not PHP-current
wp.org #13 ↑11 5 too low 9 
Easy Auto SKU Generator for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.9★ (272)
wp.org #14 5 too low 10 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519)
wp.org #17 ↓5 7 too low 11 
Bit Social – Social Media Auto Poster and Scheduler 6K+ · 4.5★ (36)
wp.org #7 4 too high 12 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143)
wp.org #19 ↓2 7 too low 13 
Revive Social – Social Media Auto Post and Scheduling Automation Plugin 20K+ · 4.0★ (556)
wp.org #15 2 too low 14 
Social Sharing Plugin – Sassy Social Share 100K+ · 4.8★ (523)
wp.org #22 ↓3 8 too low 15 
Share Buttons & AI-powered Summaries 1K+ · 5.0★ (16) thin reviews
wp.org #8 ↓2 7 too high 16 
Internal Link Juicer: SEO Auto Linker for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (537)
wp.org #23 7 too low 17 
WP to LinkedIn Auto Publish 900+ · 4.7★ (59)
wp.org #16 1 too high 18 
NextScripts: Social Networks Auto-Poster 20K+ · 3.3★ (617) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #12 ↓1 6 too high 19 
Social Media Auto Poster – Schedule & Publish to Buffer 7K+ · 4.5★ (125)
wp.org #21 ↓8 2 too low 20 
Highlight and Share – Unobtrusive and Lightweight Content Sharing 700+ · 4.9★ (29)
wp.org #18 2 too high 21 
Share This Image 1K+ · 4.1★ (22) thin reviews
wp.org #10 11 too high 22 
Simple Social Media Share Buttons – Social Sharing for Everyone 20K+ · 4.8★ (194) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #24 ↓1 2 too low 23 Smart Auto Upload Images – Import External Images 5K+ · 4.3★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #9 14 too high 24 
WPC Share Cart for WooCommerce 1K+ · 3.2★ (11) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #20 4 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.