Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “cache buster”

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 “cache buster”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

Feather – Elementor Performance Optimizer | Asset Cleanup, Page Speed & Database Cleanup shows at wp.org #11 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 90+ 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

Flexible Map places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 66 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 Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517) wp.org #1 2 Docket Cache – Object Cache Accelerator 20K+ · 4.9★ (50) wp.org #2 3 Widget Options – Advanced Conditional Visibility for Gutenberg Blocks & Classic Widgets 100K+ · 4.9★ (1516) wp.org #12 ↓1 9 too low 4 Debug Bar 20K+ · 4.1★ (69) wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too low 5 S Super Light Cache Buster 1K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 SuperFlare Cache – Cloudflare Cache & Auto-Purging 70+ · 4.4★ (9) wp.org #4 2 too high 7 ATR Cookie Notice 1K+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #9 ↑1 2 too low 8 Email Address Encoder 100K+ · 4.2★ (160) wp.org #18 ↓1 10 too low 9 Proxy & VPN Blocker 1K+ · 3.8★ (33) wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too low 10 Super RSS Reader – Add attractive RSS Feed Widget 9K+ · 4.6★ (67) wp.org #20 ↓1 10 too low 11 Flexible Map 7K+ · 4.8★ (66) wp.org #22 ↓1 11 too low 12 QR Code Composer – Automatic QR code generation 3K+ · 4.2★ (9) wp.org #5 ↓1 7 too high 13 Split Test For Elementor 3K+ · 4.4★ (24) wp.org #19 ↓1 6 too low 14 ContentBot AI Writer (AI Content) 400+ · 4.7★ (19) wp.org #23 ↓1 9 too low 15 EasyFonts – Host Google Fonts Locally, Fast & Auto-Optimize, GDPR Compliant 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #21 ↓1 6 too low 16 Init View Count – AI-Powered, Trending, REST API 80+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #13 ↓1 3 too high 17 DadsFam Cache 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 ↓1 10 too high 18 Pipeline Buster — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 ↓1 10 too high 19 AdSanity for MainWP 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↓1 5 too high 20 R Revision Buster — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↓1 5 too high 21 RenderWhen for Blocks — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↓1 5 too high 22 PlugUpp Link & Image Health Audit: Broken Link, Broken Image and Mixed Content Checker — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↓1 5 too high 23 Feather – Elementor Performance Optimizer | Asset Cleanup, Page Speed & Database Cleanup 90+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 ↓3 12 too high 24 A1 Tools 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓1

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.