wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “breeze”
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 “breeze”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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
PixelParade Smart Purge for Breeze Cache shows at wp.org #5 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 18 places. Its 50+ 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
Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 4358 reviews, but shows at wp.org #12. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint
wp.org #2 1 too low 2 
Breeze Cache 300K+ · 3.6★ (133)
wp.org #1 1 too high 3 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #3 ↑1 4 
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #4 ↓1 5 
WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228)
wp.org #7 2 too low 6 
Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) heavy footprint
wp.org #6 7 Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4358)
wp.org #12 ↓4 5 too low 8 
Brizy – Page Builder 60K+ · 4.7★ (972) not PHP-current
wp.org #10 ↑1 2 too low 9 
Simply Schedule Appointments 50K+ · 5.0★ (155)
wp.org #13 ↑1 4 too low 10 
Pop-up 10K+ · 4.7★ (86)
wp.org #11 ↑2 1 too low 11 
Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528)
wp.org #16 5 too low 12 
DearFlip – PDF Flipbook, 3D Flipbook, PDF embed, PDF viewer 200K+ · 4.9★ (194)
wp.org #15 ↓3 3 too low 13 
Pixel Cat – Conversion Pixel Manager 40K+ · 4.0★ (41)
wp.org #8 ↑1 5 too high 14 
Genesis Simple Share 10K+ · 4.4★ (33)
wp.org #9 ↑1 5 too high 15 
Tutor LMS – eLearning and online course solution 100K+ · 4.4★ (590) heavy footprint
wp.org #19 ↓2 4 too low 16 
Accessibility Widget by OneTap – Easy One-Click Accessibility Toolbar 60K+ · 4.9★ (80)
wp.org #24 8 too low 17 
Popup Builder & Popup Maker for WordPress – OptinMonster Email Marketing and Lead Generation 1M+ · 4.3★ (821) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #17 ↑2 18 
Sliced Invoices – WordPress Invoice Plugin 4K+ · 4.6★ (117) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #18 19 C Clear Cache for Me 40K+ · 4.8★ (29)
wp.org #21 2 too low 20 
MX Time Zone Clocks 1K+ · 4.7★ (15) heavy footprint thin reviews
wp.org #14 ↑1 6 too high 21 
FluentBoards – Project Management, Task Management, Goal Tracking, Kanban Board, and, Team Collaboration 6K+ · 5.0★ (25)
wp.org #23 ↑1 2 too low 22 
Surfer – WordPress Plugin 6K+ · 4.7★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #20 2 too high 23 PixelParade Smart Purge for Breeze Cache 50+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #5 18 too high 24 
aThemes Starter Sites 30K+ · 2.0★ (2) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #22 2 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.