Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “check in”

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 “check in”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 4 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

WP Spell Check shows at wp.org #8 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.9★ average from 39 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 7519 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #1 2 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #2 3 Theme Check 20K+ · 4.8★ (195) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Check & Log Email – Easy Email Testing & Mail logging 90K+ · 4.8★ (292) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676) wp.org #7 ↑1 1 too low 7 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #10 3 too low 8 Plugin Check (PCP) 10K+ · 4.5★ (36) wp.org #5 3 too high 9 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #13 4 too low 10 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #15 ↓3 5 too low 11 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #14 3 too low 12 Contact Form 7 10M+ · 4.0★ (2186) wp.org #11 1 too high 13 TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625) wp.org #20 ↓2 7 too low 14 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 #21 ↓3 7 too low 15 WP24 Domain Check 4K+ · 4.3★ (32) wp.org #9 6 too high 16 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too low 17 Back In Stock Notifier for WooCommerce | WooCommerce Waitlist Pro 20K+ · 4.7★ (122) wp.org #16 ↑4 1 too high 18 Broken Link Checker 500K+ · 3.8★ (605) wp.org #19 ↑4 1 too low 19 Child Theme Check 700+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #12 ↑1 7 too high 20 WP Spell Check 2K+ · 2.9★ (39) wp.org #8 ↓1 12 too high 21 WP ADA Compliance Check Basic 2K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #18 ↓3 3 too high 22 Check for Broken Links – Broken Link Checker & SEO Suite 1K+ · 4.0★ (6) wp.org #23 ↓2 1 too low 23 Check Pincode For WooCommerce 300+ · 4.4★ (5) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 CMS ADMINS Security Check Report 400+ · 5.0★ (2) 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.