wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “cached”
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 “cached”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 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
Proxy Cache Purge shows at wp.org #6 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 50K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.4★ average from 26 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Post Views Counter places #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 1236 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346)
wp.org #1 ↑1 2 
Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7520)
wp.org #2 ↓1 3 
WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617)
wp.org #3 4 
WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209)
wp.org #4 5 
WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228)
wp.org #7 2 too low 6 
Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641)
wp.org #5 1 too high 7 
Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517)
wp.org #10 3 too low 8 Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1236)
wp.org #20 12 too low 9 
Docket Cache – Object Cache Accelerator 20K+ · 4.9★ (50)
wp.org #12 ↑5 3 too low 10 
Content No Cache | Serve uncached partial content even when you add it to a page that is fully cached. 200+ · 5.0★ (18) thin reviews
wp.org #8 2 too high 11 
Breeze Cache 300K+ · 3.6★ (133)
wp.org #9 2 too high 12 
GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155)
wp.org #13 ↓1 1 too low 13 
Filter Everything — WordPress & WooCommerce Filters 50K+ · 4.6★ (154)
wp.org #18 ↓2 5 too low 14 
Product Feed Manager for WooCommerce – CTX Feed – Support 220+ Shopping, AI & Social Channels 90K+ · 4.6★ (838) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #16 ↓3 2 too low 15 
Statify 100K+ · 4.8★ (51)
wp.org #15 ↓1 16 
Powered Cache – Caching and Optimization for WordPress – Easily Improve PageSpeed & Web Vitals Score 3K+ · 4.8★ (58)
wp.org #14 ↑4 2 too high 17 Proxy Cache Purge 50K+ · 4.4★ (26) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #6 11 too high 18 
SpeedyCache – Cache, Optimization, Performance 500K+ · 4.4★ (30) host-installed base
wp.org #11 7 too high 19 
WP OPcache 10K+ · 4.8★ (20) thin reviews
wp.org #17 ↓2 2 too high 20 
Prevent Browser Caching 10K+ · 4.9★ (29)
wp.org #22 ↓2 2 too low 21 
Ads.txt Manager 100K+ · 4.7★ (15) thin reviews
wp.org #19 2 too high 22 
RSS Feed Widget 2K+ · 3.9★ (26)
wp.org #21 1 too high 23 
External Store for Shopify 2K+ · 3.4★ (5) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #24 1 too low 24 
Ergonet Cache 3K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #23 ↓2 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.