wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “clean wp”
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 “clean wp”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 of the top 20. 2 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 Hide & Security Enhancer shows at wp.org #17 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 50K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 275 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617)
wp.org #1 2 
UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706)
wp.org #2 3 
WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228)
wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 
WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346)
wp.org #3 ↑2 1 too high 5 
All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676)
wp.org #5 ↓1 6 
WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312)
wp.org #6 ↑1 7 
WP Reset 300K+ · 4.8★ (1014)
wp.org #9 ↑1 2 too low 8 
WP Content Copy Protection & No Right Click 100K+ · 4.8★ (1138)
wp.org #10 ↓1 2 too low 9 
Clean Login 5K+ · 4.7★ (144)
wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too high 10 
FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410)
wp.org #8 2 too high 11 
Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517)
wp.org #14 ↑1 3 too low 12 
WP-Sweep 100K+ · 4.7★ (138)
wp.org #11 1 too high 13 
SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO 300K+ · 4.8★ (1267)
wp.org #18 ↓2 5 too low 14 
WP Bulk Delete 90K+ · 4.6★ (131)
wp.org #13 1 too high 15 
WP Umbrella: Security Backup Restore & Monitoring 90K+ · 4.8★ (81)
wp.org #12 3 too high 16 
Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall 100K+ · 4.5★ (373)
wp.org #16 ↑4 17 
Media Cleaner: Delete Unused Images & Clean Your Media Library 90K+ · 4.6★ (779)
wp.org #20 ↓6 3 too low 18 
WP Chat App 100K+ · 4.9★ (222)
wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too low 19 
Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) heavy footprint
wp.org #15 4 too high 20 
WPS Hide Login 2M+ · 4.8★ (2111)
wp.org #22 ↓3 2 too low 21 
Asset CleanUp: Page Speed Booster 100K+ · 4.9★ (1564) not PHP-current
wp.org #23 ↑1 2 too low 22 
WP-Members Membership Plugin 50K+ · 4.6★ (272)
wp.org #24 ↓2 2 too low 23 
Contact Form Clean and Simple 7K+ · 4.7★ (195)
wp.org #21 2 too high 24 WP Hide & Security Enhancer 50K+ · 4.3★ (275) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #17 7 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.