wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “character”
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 “character”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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
WYSIWYG Character Limit for ACF shows at wp.org #3 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 18 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor places #9 on merit, 4.7★ from 738 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.
Insert Special Characters 3K+ · 4.9★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #1 2 
WPvivid — Backup, Migration & Staging 900K+ · 4.9★ (1568)
wp.org #5 3 too low 3 R Restrict Usernames Emails Characters 1K+ · 4.5★ (25)
wp.org #2 1 too high 4 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143)
wp.org #7 3 too low 5 
Cyr-To-Lat 300K+ · 4.7★ (98)
wp.org #4 1 too high 6 
پارسی دیت – Parsi Date 100K+ · 4.6★ (130)
wp.org #6 7 
Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423)
wp.org #9 ↑4 2 too low 8 
WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228)
wp.org #13 ↓1 5 too low 9 User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738)
wp.org #16 7 too low 10 
Cyr to Lat Enhanced 80K+ · 4.6★ (51)
wp.org #10 ↓1 11 
All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720)
wp.org #18 7 too low 12 
Cyrlitera – Transliteration of Links and File Names 40K+ · 4.6★ (62)
wp.org #11 ↓1 1 too high 13 A Advanced Excerpt 80K+ · 4.3★ (101)
wp.org #15 2 too low 14 
WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346)
wp.org #21 ↑1 7 too low 15 
wp-Typography 10K+ · 4.6★ (71)
wp.org #20 5 too low 16 
Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses and Phone Numbers 90K+ · 4.9★ (94)
wp.org #24 ↓1 8 too low 17 
Remove Uppercase Accents 8K+ · 5.0★ (28)
wp.org #22 ↓2 5 too low 18 
Count Characters, Words and Paragraphs while typing 300+ · 4.5★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #8 10 too high 19 
Cyr to Lat Reloaded – Transliteration of Links and File Names 30K+ · 4.5★ (15) thin reviews
wp.org #17 2 too high 20 
Clean Image Filenames 30K+ · 4.6★ (21) thin reviews
wp.org #23 ↓2 3 too low 21 WYSIWYG Character Limit for ACF 100+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviewslow rating, top placement
wp.org #3 18 too high 22 B Bulglish Permalinks 3K+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #19 3 too high 23 
Remove Special Characters From Permalinks 70+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #12 ↓1 11 too high 24 
Vampire Character Manager 10+ · 5.0★ (1) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #14 10 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.