wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “awesome”
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 “awesome”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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 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
Awesome Logo Carousel Block shows at wp.org #6 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 4K+ 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
Max Mega Menu places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 882 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Font Awesome 400K+ · 3.6★ (61)
wp.org #1 ↑1 2 
Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #2 ↑3 3 
Better Font Awesome 60K+ · 4.5★ (88) heavy footprint
wp.org #3 ↓2 4 
Advanced Custom Fields: Font Awesome Field 90K+ · 4.9★ (36)
wp.org #4 ↓1 5 
Flipbox – Awesomes Flip Boxes Image Overlay 9K+ · 4.7★ (149)
wp.org #7 2 too low 6 
Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220)
wp.org #13 7 too low 7 
Awesome Support – WordPress HelpDesk & Support Plugin 6K+ · 3.5★ (194) not PHP-current
wp.org #5 ↓1 2 too high 8 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143)
wp.org #14 6 too low 9 
Menu Icons by Themeisle – Add Icons to Navigation Menus 100K+ · 4.9★ (851)
wp.org #17 ↑2 8 too low 10 
Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4358)
wp.org #18 ↓2 8 too low 11 
Simple Custom CSS and JS 600K+ · 4.4★ (104)
wp.org #9 ↑1 2 too high 12 Max Mega Menu 300K+ · 4.8★ (882)
wp.org #22 10 too low 13 
Disable Gutenberg 500K+ · 5.0★ (735)
wp.org #21 ↑3 8 too low 14 
Float menu – awesome floating side menu 30K+ · 4.4★ (41)
wp.org #10 ↑1 4 too high 15 
CMP – Coming Soon & Maintenance Plugin by NiteoThemes 200K+ · 4.7★ (326)
wp.org #24 9 too low 16 
Imagify Image Optimization: Optimize Images | Compress & Convert to WebP/AVIF 900K+ · 4.3★ (1656)
wp.org #23 7 too low 17 
Awesome Contact Form7 for Elementor 6K+ · 4.4★ (23) thin reviews
wp.org #12 5 too high 18 
Breeze Cache 300K+ · 3.6★ (133)
wp.org #20 2 too low 19 Awesome Logo Carousel Block 4K+ · 4.2★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #6 13 too high 20 
Block for Font Awesome Icons – Searchable Icon Picker, SVG, FA 7 1K+ · 3.7★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #11 ↓2 9 too high 21 
Shortcode for Font Awesome 700+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #8 13 too high 22 
Floating Awesome Button (Sticky Button, Popup, Toast) & 200+ Website Custom Interactive Element 700+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #19 ↑1 3 too high 23 
Awesome Guten Text – 8 Powerful Blocks for Gutenberg 200+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↑1 7 too high 24 
Awesome FAQ – answer questions before customers ask 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #15 9 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.