Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “backlog”

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 “backlog”, 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 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

SpamAnvil – AI Anti-Spam & Comment Spam Protection shows at wp.org #8 but places #12 on merit, a gap of 4 places. Its 20+ 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 SEO Media Manager 5K+ · 4.8★ (18) wp.org #1 2 Koalendar – Easy Appointment Scheduling & Booking Plugin 1K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Ship Estimate for WooCommerce 100+ · 4.9★ (8) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Set Price Note (Units, Offers, Editions) for WooCommerce 600+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #4 5 CAPI Suite: Meta Pixel, Pinterest & TikTok for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6 Odoo Integration for WooCommerce 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too high 7 CapiFlow – Conversions API (CAPI) Tracking for WooCommerce 20+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #15 ↓4 8 too low 8 Fluxserp – AI Content Writer & SEO on Autopilot — · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too low 9 AI SEO Tools – Alt Text, Meta Descriptions, Schema & AI Content 90+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 OpptiAI Alt Text – AI Alt Text Generator for Image SEO 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 1 too high 11 365i Queue Optimizer 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too high 12 SpamAnvil – AI Anti-Spam & Comment Spam Protection 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 4 too high 13 FeedCentral Connector 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 1 too high 14 Newsroom OS – Google Discover, Google News, Schema & Editorial Workflow 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↑2 1 too high 15 Presswell Alt Text Generator 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↓3 2 too low 16 Mode7 Game Log — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓2 2 too low 17 SiteHale 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 ↓2 3 too high 18 StallRadar Past-Due Monitor for Action Scheduler — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓2 1 too low 19 M ModelGain Queue Health for Action Scheduler — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓2 1 too low 20 SpeeSeek – Find What Slows Your WordPress Site — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↓3 4 too high 21 Etibot Yorum Botu 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓2 22 AMPM Queue Manager for Action Scheduler 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓2 23 Luminos Autocomplete Orders for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓1 24 Tidy Content Planner – Editorial Calendar with Drag & Drop — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓1

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.