Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “browsing”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 6 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

Aruba HiSpeed Cache shows at wp.org #9 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 100K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 10 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

HireZoot – Job Listings, Career Page & Recruitment Tool places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 194 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625) wp.org #1 2 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #2 3 Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6 File Manager 1M+ · 4.6★ (1492) wp.org #12 6 too low 7 WP-UserOnline 10K+ · 4.6★ (38) wp.org #8 ↑1 1 too low 8 Disabled Source, Disabled Right Click and Content Protection 10K+ · 4.9★ (103) wp.org #14 6 too low 9 AntiVirus 30K+ · 4.1★ (23) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641) wp.org #13 3 too low 11 Database Cleaner: Cleanup, Optimization & Repair 10K+ · 5.0★ (150) wp.org #20 ↓3 9 too low 12 HireZoot – Job Listings, Career Page & Recruitment Tool 30K+ · 4.8★ (194) wp.org #22 ↓3 10 too low 13 Variation Swatches for WooCommerce 300K+ · 4.8★ (926) wp.org #19 ↑1 6 too low 14 AccessiYes Accessibility Widget for ADA, EAA & WCAG Readiness 20K+ · 4.8★ (36) wp.org #16 ↓1 2 too low 15 Hostinger Tools 3M+ · 3.5★ (40) wp.org #5 ↑1 10 too high 16 Protect Uploads 30K+ · 4.8★ (12) wp.org #10 6 too high 17 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #15 ↓1 2 too high 18 MC4WP: Mailchimp Top Bar – Email Subscribe Notification Bar 6K+ · 4.6★ (31) wp.org #11 7 too high 19 C Custom Upload Dir 5K+ · 4.4★ (25) wp.org #17 ↑1 2 too high 20 Insights from Google PageSpeed 10K+ · 4.8★ (28) wp.org #18 ↑3 2 too high 21 Accessibility by UserWay 80K+ · 4.0★ (57) wp.org #21 ↑2 22 WPB Product Slider for WooCommerce – Responsive Product Carousel & Showcase 4K+ · 4.1★ (38) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 Aruba HiSpeed Cache 100K+ · 3.0★ (10) wp.org #9 ↓1 14 too high 24 AgizoAI Agentic Browsing Optimizer 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 1 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.