wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “bandwidth”
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 “bandwidth”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20.
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
Disable "BIG Image" Threshold shows at wp.org #10 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.2★ average from 35 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Big File Uploads – Increase Maximum File Upload Size places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 402 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228)
wp.org #1 ↑1 2 
Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN 1M+ · 4.8★ (6053)
wp.org #3 ↑2 1 too low 3 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #2 ↓1 1 too high 4 
Download Manager 100K+ · 4.1★ (1006)
wp.org #4 ↓1 5 
All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720)
wp.org #5 ↓1 6 
W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420)
wp.org #6 ↑14 7 
WP Armour – Honeypot Anti Spam 400K+ · 5.0★ (1471)
wp.org #8 1 too low 8 
Ajax add to cart for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (78)
wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too high 9 
Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641)
wp.org #9 ↓2 10 
Direct Checkout for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.8★ (408)
wp.org #15 5 too low 11 
WebP Express 300K+ · 4.4★ (162)
wp.org #12 1 too low 12 Big File Uploads – Increase Maximum File Upload Size 100K+ · 4.9★ (402)
wp.org #20 ↓6 8 too low 13 
Seriously Simple Podcasting 20K+ · 4.7★ (330) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #13 ↓2 14 
PhastPress 10K+ · 4.9★ (99)
wp.org #17 ↓1 3 too low 15 
ThumbPress – Compress Images, Manage Thumbnails, Detect Image Issues, WebP/AVIF, Lazy Loading, Hotlinking & More 20K+ · 3.7★ (117)
wp.org #11 ↓2 4 too high 16 D Disable "BIG Image" Threshold 10K+ · 4.2★ (35)
wp.org #10 6 too high 17 
Optimole – Optimize Images | Convert WebP & AVIF | CDN & Lazy Load | Image Optimization 200K+ · 4.7★ (640)
wp.org #24 7 too low 18 
Cloudflare 200K+ · 3.5★ (181)
wp.org #14 ↑3 4 too high 19 
Loading Page with Loading Screen 10K+ · 4.6★ (124)
wp.org #23 ↑1 4 too low 20 
WPSpeed – WordPress Speed, Cache & Performance Optimization (Core Web Vitals, PageSpeed 100) 2K+ · 4.9★ (40)
wp.org #19 1 too high 21 
Flying Images: Optimize and Lazy Load Images for Faster Page Speed 2K+ · 4.8★ (26)
wp.org #22 ↑1 1 too low 22 
Donation Thermometer 2K+ · 4.4★ (12) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↓3 6 too high 23 
Jetpack VideoPress 7K+ · 4.0★ (16) thin reviews
wp.org #18 5 too high 24 
Speed Up – Lazy Load 400+ · 4.3★ (12) thin reviews
wp.org #21 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.