wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “common”
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 “common”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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
CommonsBooking shows at wp.org #13 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.8★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN places #6 on merit, 4.8★ from 6053 reviews, but shows at wp.org #10. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625)
wp.org #1 2 
WP Accessibility 60K+ · 4.8★ (68)
wp.org #2 ↑1 3 
Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) not PHP-current
wp.org #3 4 
Autoptimize 800K+ · 4.7★ (1428)
wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5 
Redis Object Cache 500K+ · 4.5★ (179)
wp.org #4 ↓2 1 too high 6 Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN 1M+ · 4.8★ (6053)
wp.org #10 ↑7 4 too low 7 
BuddyPress 90K+ · 4.1★ (375)
wp.org #7 ↓2 8 
Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks 1M+ · 4.7★ (1872) heavy footprint
wp.org #8 ↓4 9 
Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157)
wp.org #6 ↑1 3 too high 10 
Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992)
wp.org #12 2 too low 11 
Loginizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1033) not PHP-current
wp.org #9 ↑2 2 too high 12 
WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209)
wp.org #15 ↑3 3 too low 13 
Shortcodes Ultimate – Content Elements 400K+ · 4.9★ (5925) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #16 ↑5 3 too low 14 
Chatway Live Chat – AI Chatbot, Customer Support, FAQ & Helpdesk Customer Service & Chat Buttons 30K+ · 5.0★ (775)
wp.org #23 ↓15 9 too low 15 
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281)
wp.org #22 7 too low 16 
Imagify Image Optimization: Optimize Images | Compress & Convert to WebP/AVIF 900K+ · 4.3★ (1656)
wp.org #19 ↓9 3 too low 17 
W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420)
wp.org #24 7 too low 18 
File Manager 1M+ · 4.6★ (1492)
wp.org #21 ↓2 3 too low 19 
SVG Support 1M+ · 4.8★ (356)
wp.org #18 ↑6 1 too high 20 
Safe SVG 1M+ · 4.9★ (79) host-installed base
wp.org #11 ↑2 9 too high 21 
Colibri Page Builder 80K+ · 4.4★ (80)
wp.org #17 ↓8 4 too high 22 
FileOrganizer – WordPress File Manager 200K+ · 4.8★ (49)
wp.org #20 ↓4 2 too high 23 C Commons In A Box 20+ · 5.0★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #14 ↑1 9 too high 24 CommonsBooking 200+ · 4.8★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #13 ↑1 11 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.