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← Rankings

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

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 “cleaning”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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 Healthcheck shows at wp.org #11 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Advanced Database Cleaner – Optimize & Clean Database to Speed Up Site Performance places #6 on merit, 4.9★ from 1962 reviews, but shows at wp.org #12. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #1 2 Database Cleaner: Cleanup, Optimization & Repair 10K+ · 5.0★ (150) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too low 3 LWS Cleaner 20K+ · 4.8★ (16) wp.org #2 ↑1 1 too high 4 SEO WRITING – AI Writer for SEO & AI Search 20K+ · 4.9★ (120) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5 WPS Cleaner 10K+ · 4.3★ (99) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too high 6 Advanced Database Cleaner – Optimize & Clean Database to Speed Up Site Performance 100K+ · 4.9★ (1962) wp.org #12 ↓8 6 too low 7 Jetpack Protect 100K+ · 4.6★ (123) wp.org #9 ↑3 2 too low 8 WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346) wp.org #10 ↑3 2 too low 9 Transient Cleaner 1K+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #8 1 too high 10 Disable WP Notification 10K+ · 4.3★ (12) wp.org #6 ↑1 4 too high 11 SEO Redirection Plugin – 301 Redirect Manager 10K+ · 4.3★ (73) wp.org #13 ↑3 2 too low 12 Paste As Plain Text By Default 2K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #7 ↑3 5 too high 13 Hyper Cache 7K+ · 4.5★ (82) wp.org #20 ↓1 7 too low 14 Unbloater 5K+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #14 15 Easy HTTPS Redirection (SSL) 100K+ · 4.2★ (71) wp.org #21 ↑1 6 too low 16 Advanced IP Blocker 3K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #22 6 too low 17 Auto Delete Post – Ultimate plugin for deleting a post automatically 300+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #15 ↓4 2 too high 18 Layouts for WPBakery 3K+ · 4.4★ (9) wp.org #16 ↓1 2 too high 19 Layouts for Elementor 1K+ · 4.7★ (14) wp.org #24 5 too low 20 WP Healthcheck 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #11 ↓2 9 too high 21 LWS Tools 10K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #19 ↑2 2 too high 22 Anti Spam and list cleaner – AcyChecker 400+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 Odyssey LLMS 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 ↑2 5 too high 24 ZS Action Scheduler Optimizer 300+ · 5.0★ (1) 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.