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

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 “backups”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 2 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

Kadence Central – Site Management, Backups, Security, and Reporting shows at wp.org #14 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 30K+ 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) wp.org #1 2 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #2 3 WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470) wp.org #3 4 WPvivid — Backup, Migration & Staging 900K+ · 4.9★ (1568) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676) wp.org #6 7 Backup Migration 80K+ · 4.9★ (1338) wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too low 8 BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) wp.org #7 ↑1 1 too high 9 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too low 10 JetBackup – Backup, Restore & Migrate 200K+ · 4.5★ (1056) wp.org #13 ↑1 3 too low 11 BlogVault Backup & Staging 80K+ · 4.6★ (332) wp.org #12 1 too low 12 Backuply – Backup, Restore, Migrate and Clone 600K+ · 4.5★ (135) wp.org #9 ↑1 3 too high 13 Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528) wp.org #15 ↓5 2 too low 14 WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209) wp.org #18 ↓2 4 too low 15 WP Umbrella: Security Backup Restore & Monitoring 90K+ · 4.8★ (81) wp.org #11 ↑2 4 too high 16 Modular DS: Monitor, update, and backup multiple websites 40K+ · 5.0★ (133) wp.org #20 ↑2 4 too low 17 Prime Mover – Backup and Migration 10K+ · 5.0★ (141) wp.org #21 ↓2 4 too low 18 WP Database Backup – Unlimited Database & Files Backup by Backup for WP 20K+ · 4.5★ (102) wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too low 19 Database Backup for WordPress 60K+ · 4.5★ (66) wp.org #22 ↓2 3 too low 20 MainWP Child – Securely Connects to the MainWP Dashboard to Manage Multiple Sites 700K+ · 5.0★ (71) wp.org #17 3 too high 21 Jetpack VaultPress Backup 20K+ · 4.5★ (35) wp.org #24 ↓1 3 too low 22 Royal WordPress Backup, Restore & Migration Plugin – Backup WordPress Sites Safely 30K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #16 ↑6 6 too high 23 WebToffee WP Backup and Migration 5K+ · 4.5★ (49) wp.org #23 ↑1 24 Kadence Central – Site Management, Backups, Security, and Reporting 30K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #14 ↑1 10 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.