wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “check plugin conflicts”
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 plugin conflicts”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 4 of the top 20.
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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.
Ranked above its merit
Plugin Detective – Troubleshooting Conflicts shows at wp.org #5 but places #12 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 5K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 49 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8709)
wp.org #2 1 too low 2 
Plugin Check (PCP) 10K+ · 4.5★ (36)
wp.org #1 1 too high 3 
Check & Log Email – Easy Email Testing & Mail logging 90K+ · 4.8★ (292)
wp.org #3 4 
Payment Plugins for Stripe WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.8★ (303)
wp.org #4 5 
Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (398)
wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too low 6 
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5040)
wp.org #8 ↑1 2 too low 7 
BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323)
wp.org #7 ↑3 8 
GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708)
wp.org #10 ↓2 2 too low 9 
FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410)
wp.org #9 ↑2 10 
SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO 300K+ · 4.8★ (1268)
wp.org #13 ↑3 3 too low 11 
Plugin Organizer 10K+ · 4.7★ (227)
wp.org #11 ↑1 12 Plugin Detective – Troubleshooting Conflicts 5K+ · 4.0★ (49)
wp.org #5 ↑1 7 too high 13 
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #15 2 too low 14 
Payment Plugins for PayPal WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (127)
wp.org #12 ↑8 2 too high 15 
Easy Updates Manager 300K+ · 4.8★ (726)
wp.org #16 ↓2 1 too low 16 
Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167)
wp.org #14 ↑5 2 too high 17 
Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4358)
wp.org #19 ↓6 2 too low 18 
GeoDirectory – WP Business Directory Plugin and Classified Listings Directory 10K+ · 4.8★ (716)
wp.org #20 ↑1 2 too low 19 
WP Rollback – Rollback Plugins and Themes 200K+ · 4.9★ (215)
wp.org #23 ↓1 4 too low 20 
GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155)
wp.org #17 3 too high 21 
Freesoul Deactivate Plugins – Disable plugins on individual WordPress pages 8K+ · 4.8★ (104)
wp.org #22 ↑2 1 too low 22 
Plugin Load Filter 7K+ · 4.8★ (52)
wp.org #18 ↓1 4 too high 23 
WP ADA Compliance Check Basic 2K+ · 4.5★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↓3 2 too high 24 
WProofreader spell & grammar check plugin for WordPress 4K+ · 3.7★ (15) thin reviews
wp.org #24 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.