wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “character count”
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 count”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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 #2 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 16 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
Import and export users and customers places #12 on merit, 4.7★ from 259 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.
Two Factor 100K+ · 4.7★ (209)
wp.org #4 ↑1 3 too low 2 A Advanced Excerpt 80K+ · 4.3★ (101)
wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too low 3 
WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228)
wp.org #6 ↑2 3 too low 4 
Count Characters, Words and Paragraphs while typing 300+ · 4.5★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #1 3 too high 5 
WP Bulk Delete 90K+ · 4.6★ (131)
wp.org #5 ↓1 6 
WP-Sweep 100K+ · 4.7★ (138)
wp.org #9 3 too low 7 
Better Click To Share – Shareable Quote Boxes for X (Twitter) 6K+ · 4.8★ (48)
wp.org #7 ↓1 8 
Extra Product Options For WooCommerce | Custom Product Addons and Fields 30K+ · 4.9★ (219) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #8 ↑6 9 
GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155)
wp.org #11 ↓1 2 too low 10 
Redirection 2M+ · 4.4★ (703)
wp.org #16 ↑4 6 too low 11 
Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses and Phone Numbers 90K+ · 4.9★ (94)
wp.org #17 ↑2 6 too low 12 Import and export users and customers 70K+ · 4.7★ (259)
wp.org #22 ↑1 10 too low 13 
URL Shortify – Simple and Easy URL Shortener 10K+ · 4.7★ (169)
wp.org #21 8 too low 14 
Export Media URLs 7K+ · 5.0★ (29)
wp.org #14 ↑2 15 
Breadcrumb – Breadcrumb for WooCommerce and Custom Post Types 10K+ · 4.6★ (34)
wp.org #15 16 
WP-PostViews 90K+ · 4.4★ (65)
wp.org #18 ↓1 2 too low 17 
CrawlWP SEO – Complete WordPress SEO Plugin with AI, Indexing & Search Performance 30K+ · 4.7★ (62) not PHP-current
wp.org #20 ↑1 3 too low 18 WYSIWYG Character Limit for ACF 100+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviewslow rating, top placement
wp.org #2 ↑1 16 too high 19 T Throws SPAM Away 10K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #10 ↑1 9 too high 20 
Flexy Breadcrumb 10K+ · 4.7★ (20) thin reviews
wp.org #23 3 too low 21 
Bulk NoIndex & NoFollow Toolkit 2K+ · 4.3★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #12 9 too high 22 
Advanced Post Block – Display Your Posts Exactly How You Want 10K+ · 4.2★ (17) not PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #19 ↓1 3 too high 23 
GravityWP – CSS Selector 4K+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #24 1 too low 24 
Post Word Counter – Content Insights Dashboard 200+ · 4.5★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #13 11 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.