Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “block enabled”

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 “block enabled”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway shows at wp.org #13 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 700K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.1★ average from 237 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

LiteSpeed Cache places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 2778 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 The Icon Block 40K+ · 5.0★ (29) wp.org #1 2 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #2 ↑2 3 Block Visibility — Conditional Visibility Control for the Block Editor 40K+ · 4.9★ (108) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 Carousel Slider Block for Gutenberg 50K+ · 4.8★ (59) wp.org #4 ↓1 5 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too low 6 Flexible Table Block 40K+ · 4.9★ (34) wp.org #7 ↑1 1 too low 7 Nexter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder & AI Website Builder 9K+ · 4.8★ (90) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 PublishPress Blocks – Block Controls, Block Visibility, Block Permissions 20K+ · 4.7★ (204) wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too low 9 Gutenberg Essential Blocks – Page Builder for Gutenberg Blocks & Patterns 100K+ · 4.9★ (216) wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too low 10 SVG Block 4K+ · 5.0★ (14) wp.org #5 ↑1 5 too high 11 Spectra Blocks – AI Website Builder for the Block Editor 60K+ · 4.6★ (53) wp.org #9 ↓4 2 too high 12 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #20 8 too low 13 SimpLy Gallery 40K+ · 4.8★ (118) wp.org #16 3 too low 14 Ultimate Blocks – 25+ Gutenberg Blocks for Block Editor 50K+ · 4.9★ (729) wp.org #21 ↓3 7 too low 15 BBQ Firewall – Fast & Powerful Firewall Security 100K+ · 4.9★ (160) wp.org #23 ↓2 8 too low 16 Meta Field Block – Display Custom Fields for ACF, Meta Box and More 10K+ · 5.0★ (57) wp.org #17 ↓2 1 too low 17 Block Manager 4K+ · 4.9★ (13) wp.org #12 ↓1 5 too high 18 Bootstrap Blocks 10K+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #22 ↓3 4 too low 19 Highlighting Code Block 10K+ · 4.5★ (20) wp.org #15 ↓1 4 too high 20 Embed YouTube Block – Fast Loading Videos, Shorts & Playlists 6K+ · 5.0★ (16) wp.org #19 ↓2 1 too high 21 Light Modal Block 2K+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #18 ↓2 3 too high 22 WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway 700K+ · 3.1★ (237) wp.org #13 9 too high 23 VK Blocks 100K+ · 4.8★ (6) wp.org #14 ↓2 9 too high 24 Audio Player Block – Advanced Block for Embedding Audio Files 2K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #24 ↓2

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.