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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “clear cache”

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 “clear cache”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 3 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

Clear Cache Everywhere shows at wp.org #6 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics places #10 on merit, 3.7★ from 2408 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. 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 ↑1 2 W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #2 3 Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517) wp.org #5 ↓1 2 too low 4 WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346) wp.org #4 ↓1 5 C Clear Cache for Me 40K+ · 4.8★ (29) wp.org #3 ↓2 2 too high 6 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #9 ↓2 3 too low 7 Cache Enabler 100K+ · 4.3★ (139) wp.org #11 4 too low 8 Breeze Cache 300K+ · 3.6★ (133) wp.org #8 ↑1 9 Powered Cache – Caching and Optimization for WordPress – Easily Improve PageSpeed & Web Vitals Score 3K+ · 4.8★ (58) wp.org #16 ↑6 7 too low 10 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #24 14 too low 11 WP REST Cache 10K+ · 4.9★ (42) wp.org #14 ↑2 3 too low 12 SpeedyCache – Cache, Optimization, Performance 500K+ · 4.4★ (30) wp.org #18 ↓3 6 too low 13 Hestia Nginx Cache 1K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #23 ↓2 10 too low 14 Clear All Cache for WP Super Cache 6K+ · 3.1★ (11) wp.org #13 ↓1 1 too high 15 Proxy Cache Purge 50K+ · 4.4★ (26) wp.org #22 ↓2 7 too low 16 Clear Autoptimize Cache Automatically 4K+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #7 ↓1 9 too high 17 Aruba HiSpeed Cache 100K+ · 3.0★ (10) wp.org #10 ↓2 7 too high 18 C3 Cloudfront Cache Controller 3K+ · 4.3★ (3) wp.org #17 ↓3 1 too high 19 S Server-Side Cache AutoPurge 10K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #20 ↓3 1 too low 20 Cleavr Clear Cache 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #12 ↓2 8 too high 21 Clear Cache Everywhere 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 ↓1 15 too high 22 The Cache Purger 1K+ · 4.5★ (6) wp.org #21 ↓2 1 too high 23 A Automatic Cache Flusher for W3 Total Cache 4K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↓2 8 too high 24 Ergonet Cache 3K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↓1 5 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.