wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “commented posts”

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 “commented posts”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

WP-Stats shows at wp.org #7 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.6★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP All Import – Drag & Drop Import for CSV, XML, Excel & Google Sheets places #9 on merit, 4.7★ from 1966 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 signals wp.org

Flex Posts – Responsive Posts Block 2K+ · 5.0★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #1 2

Smart Post – Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider Gutenberg Blocks for Blog & News 20K+ · 4.7★ (210) heavy footprint wp.org #3 1 too low 3

AnWP Post Grid and Post Carousel Slider for Elementor 20K+ · 4.9★ (84) wp.org #4 1 too low 4

WP Popups – WordPress Popup builder 30K+ · 4.9★ (112) wp.org #6 2 too low 5

Magical Posts Display – Elementor Advanced Posts widgets 3K+ · 4.4★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #2 3 too high 6

Peter's Post Notes – Admin Notes for Posts and Pages 3K+ · 4.9★ (26) wp.org #5 1 too high 7

Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #14 ↑1 7 too low 8

Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #8 9

WP All Import – Drag & Drop Import for CSV, XML, Excel & Google Sheets 100K+ · 4.7★ (1966) wp.org #24 15 too low 10

Hyper Cache 7K+ · 4.5★ (82) wp.org #11 1 too low 11

Social Preview and Open Graph Tags 50K+ · 4.6★ (122) wp.org #15 ↓1 4 too low 12

Youzify – BuddyPress Community, User Profile, Social Network & Membership Plugin for WordPress 5K+ · 4.8★ (194) wp.org #20 ↓1 8 too low 13

PPWP – Password Protect Pages 30K+ · 4.7★ (271) wp.org #22 9 too low 14

Broadcast 1K+ · 4.9★ (214) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #16 ↑1 2 too low 15

Smart Grid-Layout Design for Contact Form 7 10K+ · 4.5★ (72) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #13 2 too high 16 P Post Comments as bbPress Topics 300+ · 4.3★ (18) thin reviews wp.org #10 6 too high 17

Simple Content Templates for Blog Posts & Pages 1K+ · 4.0★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #17 ↓1 18

FluentComments – AJAX Comments, Anti-Spam & Comment Email Notifications 700+ · 4.3★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #18 1 too high 20

WP-Stats 2K+ · 2.6★ (7) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #7 13 too high 21

iZooto – Web Push Notifications 900+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #21 22 P PiwigoPress 200+ · 3.7★ (6) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #19 ↑1 3 too high 23

Last Commented Posts Block — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #12 11 too high 24

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.