wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “company”
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 “company”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 5 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
Guaranteed Reviews Company (Société des Avis Garantis) shows at wp.org #7 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 900+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.2★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Cool Timeline (Horizontal & Vertical Timeline) places #12 on merit, 4.7★ from 333 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461)
wp.org #1 2 
Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667)
wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too low 3 
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 #6 ↑2 3 too low 4 
WP Job Manager 70K+ · 4.4★ (237)
wp.org #5 ↑2 1 too low 5 M MAS Companies For WP Job Manager 1K+ · 4.9★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #2 ↑1 3 too high 6 
All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676)
wp.org #9 ↑3 3 too low 7 
WP Job Portal – AI-Powered Recruitment System for Company or Job Board website 8K+ · 4.3★ (32)
wp.org #4 ↑1 3 too high 8 
Business Directory Plugin – Easy Listing & Member Directories for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (504)
wp.org #13 ↑1 5 too low 9 
BuddyPress 90K+ · 4.1★ (375)
wp.org #12 ↓1 3 too low 10 
FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410)
wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too low 11 
Timeline Widget For Elementor (Elementor Timeline, Vertical & Horizontal Timeline) 70K+ · 4.8★ (248)
wp.org #21 ↓2 10 too low 12 Cool Timeline (Horizontal & Vertical Timeline) 20K+ · 4.7★ (333)
wp.org #23 ↓3 11 too low 13 
Flexible Checkout Fields for WooCommerce – WooCommerce Checkout Manager 80K+ · 4.7★ (296)
wp.org #24 ↓1 11 too low 14 
Media Focus Point 6K+ · 5.0★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #8 ↓2 6 too high 15 
MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #17 ↓8 2 too low 16 
Campos Checkout Brasileiro para WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.9★ (45) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #11 5 too high 17 
Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #15 ↑2 2 too high 18 
Float menu – awesome floating side menu 30K+ · 4.4★ (41)
wp.org #16 ↓1 2 too high 19 
WP LinkedIn Auto Publish 8K+ · 4.8★ (106) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #18 ↑3 1 too high 20 
Event Tickets and Registration 90K+ · 3.5★ (236) heavy footprint
wp.org #22 2 too low 21 
Print Invoice & Delivery Notes for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.4★ (140) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #20 ↓4 1 too high 22 Guaranteed Reviews Company (Société des Avis Garantis) 900+ · 4.2★ (5) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #7 ↓3 15 too high 23 
Timeline Block For Gutenberg 9K+ · 4.4★ (11) thin reviews
wp.org #19 ↓1 4 too high 24 
Feedback Company 800+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #10 14 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.