wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “bug reporting”
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 “bug reporting”, 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
Kadence Central – Site Management, Backups, Security, and Reporting shows at wp.org #4 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 30K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.2★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Download Monitor places #9 on merit, 4.5★ from 525 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. 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 #1 2 
WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (758)
wp.org #2 3 
Analytify – Google Analytics 4 Tracking and Reporting in WordPress 20K+ · 4.7★ (488)
wp.org #5 2 too low 4 
Spam Destroyer 5K+ · 4.6★ (54)
wp.org #3 1 too high 5 
LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778)
wp.org #6 1 too low 6 
The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461)
wp.org #8 ↑2 2 too low 7 
Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) heavy footprint
wp.org #7 ↑6 8 
Logo Carousel – Responsive Logo Slider, Logo Showcase, and Clients Logo Gallery 20K+ · 4.7★ (162)
wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too low 9 Download Monitor 80K+ · 4.5★ (525)
wp.org #16 ↑2 7 too low 10 
Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807)
wp.org #15 ↓2 5 too low 11 
Kadence WooCommerce Email Designer 90K+ · 4.5★ (142)
wp.org #13 ↑1 2 too low 12 
Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) not PHP-current
wp.org #12 ↓5 13 
Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667)
wp.org #20 7 too low 14 
FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410)
wp.org #18 ↑4 4 too low 15 
Product Category Slider & Grid for WooCommerce – Reno Product Category 9K+ · 4.8★ (91) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #10 ↓1 5 too high 16 
WP Job Manager 70K+ · 4.4★ (237)
wp.org #19 ↑2 3 too low 17 
Product Slider, Product Carousel and Product Grid Gallery for WooCommerce – Reno Product Slider (formerly Product Slider for WooCommerce) 20K+ · 4.7★ (280) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #14 ↑2 3 too high 18 
Sucuri Security – Auditing, Malware Scanner and Security Hardening 600K+ · 4.2★ (386) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #11 ↑1 7 too high 19 
Responsive Team Members Showcase, Team Grid, Team Slider, and Staff List – Smart Team (formerly WP Team) 5K+ · 4.7★ (92)
wp.org #17 ↑2 2 too high 20 Kadence Central – Site Management, Backups, Security, and Reporting 30K+ · 4.2★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #4 16 too high 21 
Shortcode in Menus 50K+ · 4.7★ (82)
wp.org #21 ↓1 22 J jQuery Updater 20K+ · 4.5★ (64)
wp.org #24 2 too low 23 
Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #23 24 W WP Force Lowercase URLs 6K+ · 5.0★ (5) 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.