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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “automatic migration”

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 “automatic migration”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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

Tutor LMS – Migration Tool shows at wp.org #10 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 27820 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8660) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7669) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 Backup Migration 80K+ · 4.9★ (1333) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 WPvivid — Backup, Migration & Staging 900K+ · 4.9★ (1552) wp.org #4 ↑2 5 Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 Migrate Guru – Site Migration & Cloning 200K+ · 4.9★ (1641) wp.org #6 ↓2 7 WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2466) wp.org #7 8 SiteGround Migrator 80K+ · 4.3★ (402) wp.org #9 1 too low 9 Prime Mover – Backup and Migration 10K+ · 5.0★ (140) wp.org #11 2 too low 10 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27820) wp.org #18 8 too low 11 Automatic Domain Changer 10K+ · 4.3★ (29) wp.org #8 3 too high 12 Cyr-To-Lat 300K+ · 4.7★ (98) wp.org #13 1 too low 13 BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1321) wp.org #15 2 too low 14 WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312) wp.org #23 9 too low 15 FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 600K+ · 4.8★ (406) wp.org #20 ↑2 5 too low 16 Free 1-Click WordPress Migration 300+ · 4.5★ (39) wp.org #12 4 too high 17 Cookiebot by Usercentrics – Automatic Cookie Banner for GDPR/CCPA & Google Consent Mode 100K+ · 4.4★ (440) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 WP Synchro – The Ultimate WordPress Migration Tool 2K+ · 5.0★ (30) wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too low 19 Migrate to WordPress.com 2K+ · 4.6★ (8) wp.org #14 5 too high 20 Royal WordPress Backup, Restore & Migration Plugin – Backup WordPress Sites Safely 30K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #22 ↓3 2 too low 21 Tutor LMS – Migration Tool 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #10 11 too high 22 Automatic Product Categories for WooCommerce 400+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #16 ↑1 6 too high 23 Automatic Internal Links for SEO by Pagup 1K+ · 3.0★ (8) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 Demi – One Click Demo Import, Backup & Site Migration 300+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↓1 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.