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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “chunks”

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 “chunks”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

HHG for TranslatePress shows at wp.org #6 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Advanced File Manager – Ultimate File Manager for WordPress And Document Library Solution places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 442 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. 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 WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676) wp.org #1 2 AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Big File Uploads – Increase Maximum File Upload Size 100K+ · 4.9★ (403) wp.org #5 ↓1 2 too low 4 Drag and Drop Multiple File Upload for Contact Form 7 60K+ · 4.8★ (94) wp.org #4 ↓1 5 WS Action Scheduler Cleaner 3K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #2 3 too high 6 Download Manager 90K+ · 4.1★ (1006) wp.org #12 ↓2 6 too low 7 SQLite Object Cache 10K+ · 5.0★ (51) wp.org #11 4 too low 8 U Upload Larger Plugins 6K+ · 5.0★ (20) wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too high 9 WP All Import – Product Import for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.7★ (276) wp.org #16 ↓1 7 too low 10 Order Export & Order Import for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.7★ (337) wp.org #17 ↓1 7 too low 11 Advanced File Manager – Ultimate File Manager for WordPress And Document Library Solution 100K+ · 4.8★ (442) wp.org #21 ↓1 10 too low 12 Greenshift – animation and page builder blocks 70K+ · 4.8★ (107) wp.org #18 ↓1 6 too low 13 Content Egg – Affiliate Product Importer & Price Comparison 10K+ · 3.9★ (56) wp.org #14 ↓1 1 too low 14 WP All Import – Import Add-On for ACF 50K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #10 ↓1 4 too high 15 Drag and Drop Multiple File Upload for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.9★ (20) wp.org #19 ↓1 4 too low 16 Add From Server Lite 4K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #8 ↓1 8 too high 17 Bulk Product Sync – Bulk Product Editor for WooCommerce with Google Sheets™ 300+ · 4.2★ (27) wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too low 18 AxiaChat AI – Free AI Chatbot (Answers Customers Automatically) 500+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #24 ↓1 6 too low 19 HHG for TranslatePress 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 ↓1 13 too high 20 Export Customers Data 500+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #9 ↓1 11 too high 21 CSV Importer Plus for ACF 400+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too low 22 Clean unused shortcodes 300+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #23 ↓1 1 too low 23 WP All Import – Job Listing Import for WP Job Manager 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 ↓1 8 too high 24 Export Media as ZIP 3K+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #13 ↓1 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.