wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “cloud forum”
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 “cloud forum”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 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
IP Location Block shows at wp.org #18 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 5 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.5★ average from 35 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940)
wp.org #1 2 
WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470)
wp.org #3 1 too low 3 
Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510)
wp.org #2 1 too high 4 
wpForo Forum 20K+ · 4.7★ (390)
wp.org #4 5 
UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8708)
wp.org #5 6 
Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962)
wp.org #6 7 
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039)
wp.org #7 8 
Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221)
wp.org #10 ↓1 2 too low 9 
Templately – Elementor & Gutenberg Template Library: 6500+ Free & Pro Ready Templates And Cloud! 300K+ · 5.0★ (383)
wp.org #8 1 too high 10 
Backup Migration 80K+ · 4.9★ (1338)
wp.org #12 ↓1 2 too low 11 
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132)
wp.org #14 ↓2 3 too low 12 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #9 ↑4 3 too high 13 
LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778)
wp.org #13 ↑1 14 
BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323)
wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too high 15 
WPvivid — Backup, Migration & Staging 900K+ · 4.9★ (1568)
wp.org #15 16 
Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667)
wp.org #17 1 too low 17 
Photo Gallery by 10Web – Mobile-Friendly Image Gallery 100K+ · 4.5★ (1581)
wp.org #23 ↓2 6 too low 18 
Optimole – Optimize Images | Convert WebP & AVIF | CDN & Lazy Load | Image Optimization 200K+ · 4.7★ (640)
wp.org #21 ↓2 3 too low 19 
Media Library Assistant 70K+ · 4.8★ (202)
wp.org #20 ↑2 1 too low 20 
Backuply – Backup, Restore, Migrate and Clone 600K+ · 4.5★ (135)
wp.org #16 ↑2 4 too high 21 
MalCare WordPress Security Plugin – Malware Scanner, Cleaner, Security Firewall 100K+ · 4.4★ (559)
wp.org #24 3 too low 22 
Connect Matomo – Analytics Dashboard for WordPress 60K+ · 4.5★ (95)
wp.org #22 ↓2 23 IP Location Block 10K+ · 4.5★ (35)
wp.org #18 ↓2 5 too high 24 
Everest Backup – WordPress Cloud Backup, Migration, Restore & Cloning Plugin 3K+ · 4.4★ (45)
wp.org #19 ↓2 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.