wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “backup”
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 “backup”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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
Royal WordPress Backup, Restore & Migration Plugin – Backup WordPress Sites Safely shows at wp.org #14 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 30K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Migrate Guru – Site Migration & Cloning places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 1633 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 3M+ · 4.8★ (8623)
wp.org #1 2 
Backup Migration 80K+ · 4.9★ (1330)
wp.org #2 ↑2 3 
Jetpack – WP Security, Backup, Speed, & Growth 3M+ · 3.7★ (2406)
wp.org #3 ↓1 4 
All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7664)
wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5 
WP STAGING – WordPress Backups, Restore, Migration & Clone 100K+ · 4.8★ (2463)
wp.org #7 ↑1 2 too low 6 
BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1321) not PHP-current
wp.org #4 ↑1 2 too high 7 
WPvivid — Backup, Migration & Staging 900K+ · 4.9★ (1535)
wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too low 8 
JetBackup – Backup, Restore & Migrate 200K+ · 4.5★ (1054)
wp.org #9 1 too low 9 
Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4928) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #6 ↓3 3 too high 10 
BlogVault Backup & Staging 80K+ · 4.6★ (330)
wp.org #11 ↑1 1 too low 11 
WP Database Backup – Unlimited Database & Files Backup by Backup for WP 30K+ · 4.5★ (102)
wp.org #10 ↑1 1 too high 12 Migrate Guru – Site Migration & Cloning 200K+ · 4.9★ (1633)
wp.org #21 9 too low 13 
Post SMTP – Complete Email Deliverability and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (526)
wp.org #16 ↓1 3 too low 14 
Backuply – Backup, Restore, Migrate and Clone 600K+ · 4.5★ (136)
wp.org #12 ↓2 2 too high 15 
WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – The Most Popular SMTP and Email Log Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (5181)
wp.org #22 ↓1 7 too low 16 
WP Umbrella: Security Backup Restore & Monitoring 80K+ · 4.8★ (74)
wp.org #13 ↑6 3 too high 17 
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (4979) heavy footprint
wp.org #20 3 too low 18 
Total Upkeep – WordPress Backup Plugin plus Restore & Migrate by BoldGrid 50K+ · 4.8★ (440) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #15 3 too high 19 
Database Backup for WordPress 60K+ · 4.5★ (66)
wp.org #18 ↓4 1 too high 20 
Jetpack VaultPress Backup 20K+ · 4.5★ (35)
wp.org #17 3 too high 21 
Backup, Restore and Migrate your sites with XCloner 10K+ · 4.2★ (129)
wp.org #24 ↓2 3 too low 22 
Everest Backup – WordPress Cloud Backup, Migration, Restore & Cloning Plugin 3K+ · 4.4★ (45)
wp.org #23 1 too low 23 Royal WordPress Backup, Restore & Migration Plugin – Backup WordPress Sites Safely 30K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #14 9 too high 24 
WPvivid Backup for MainWP 10K+ · 4.6★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #19 ↓1 5 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.