Plugin Pulse
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “blog listing”

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 “blog listing”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 5 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

Advanced Posts Listing – Show Post List Easily shows at wp.org #7 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Anti-Spam by CleanTalk – Spam Protection Without CAPTCHA places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 3214 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7308) wp.org #1 2 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1678) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 WP Blog Post Layouts 9K+ · 4.7★ (83) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 HivePress – Business Directory, Listings & Classified Ads Plugin 10K+ · 4.9★ (221) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #9 4 too low 6 Tabbed Category Product Listing for Woocommerce 1K+ · 4.9★ (28) wp.org #4 2 too high 7 MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1432) wp.org #11 ↑1 4 too low 8 Anti-Spam by CleanTalk – Spam Protection Without CAPTCHA 200K+ · 4.8★ (3214) wp.org #18 ↑1 10 too low 9 Jetpack – WP Security, Backup, Speed, & Growth 3M+ · 3.7★ (2407) wp.org #12 ↑1 3 too low 10 User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (736) wp.org #20 ↑1 10 too low 11 Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots 10K+ · 4.8★ (142) wp.org #16 ↑4 5 too low 12 WP Maps – Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, Mapbox, Store Locator with Search, Filters & Listings 60K+ · 4.3★ (122) wp.org #8 ↓1 4 too high 13 The Plus Addons for Elementor – Mega Menu, Header Footer, Post Grid, AI Widgets & Templates 100K+ · 4.6★ (387) wp.org #22 ↓5 9 too low 14 Google for WooCommerce 800K+ · 2.7★ (267) wp.org #5 9 too high 15 SiteOrigin Widgets Bundle 400K+ · 4.9★ (134) wp.org #23 ↑1 8 too low 16 Kubio AI Page Builder 80K+ · 4.4★ (78) wp.org #15 ↑1 1 too high 17 Schema & Structured Data for WP & AMP 100K+ · 4.5★ (252) wp.org #19 ↑3 2 too low 18 MultiVendorX – WooCommerce Multivendor Marketplace AI Powered Solutions 2K+ · 4.8★ (432) wp.org #24 6 too low 19 Fast eBay Listings 400+ · 4.5★ (18) wp.org #13 ↑1 6 too high 20 BlogLentor – Blog Designer Pack for Elementor 4K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #14 ↑1 6 too high 21 Fast Etsy Listings 400+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #10 11 too high 22 Magazine Blocks – Blog Designer, Magazine & Newspaper Website Builder, Page Builder with Posts Blocks, Post Grid 6K+ · 4.9★ (9) wp.org #17 ↑1 5 too high 23 Advanced Posts Listing – Show Post List Easily 3K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 ↑1 16 too high 24 Volteruno – AI Blog Auto-Publish 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↑2 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.