Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “backwpup”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 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

SitePulse – Performance Monitor, Safe Updates & Site Management shows at wp.org #6 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 100+ 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.

Buried gem

iubenda | All-in-one Compliance for GDPR / CCPA Cookie Consent + more places #8 on merit, 4.7★ from 397 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) wp.org #1 2 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #2 3 WPeMatico RSS Feed Fetcher 10K+ · 4.8★ (514) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Backup Migration 80K+ · 4.9★ (1338) wp.org #16 ↑1 12 too low 5 简数采集器 1K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 ManageWP Worker 1M+ · 4.6★ (679) wp.org #17 ↑1 11 too low 7 WP Client Reports 6K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #4 3 too high 8 iubenda | All-in-one Compliance for GDPR / CCPA Cookie Consent + more 200K+ · 4.7★ (397) wp.org #23 ↑1 15 too low 9 Check & Log Email – Easy Email Testing & Mail logging 90K+ · 4.8★ (292) wp.org #18 ↑1 9 too low 10 SQLite Object Cache 10K+ · 5.0★ (51) wp.org #22 ↑1 12 too low 11 Visual Composer Website Builder 30K+ · 4.6★ (220) wp.org #24 13 too low 12 MainWP Child – Securely Connects to the MainWP Dashboard to Manage Multiple Sites 700K+ · 5.0★ (71) wp.org #12 13 Albert – Connect AI Assistants to WordPress 40+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #8 ↑1 5 too high 14 Advanced S3 Destinations for BackWPup 20+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #10 4 too high 15 SurfLink – Link Manager & Backup Restore 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #9 ↓1 6 too high 16 MainWP Child Reports 100K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #19 ↑1 3 too low 17 SitePulse – Performance Monitor, Safe Updates & Site Management 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 11 too high 18 Luzid Backup to Nextcloud 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 11 too high 19 Kreiswolke Maintenance Agent Toolkit 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 8 too high 20 All’s Well — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 7 too high 21 Shake Connect — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 7 too high 22 live24h Website Monitor — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↑1 7 too high 23 seljeBackup — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↑1 3 too high 24 Pronamic Client 600+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↑1 3 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.