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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “compression ratio”

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

Raina Image Compression shows at wp.org #2 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Seraphinite Accelerator places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 476 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN 1M+ · 4.8★ (6053) wp.org #1 2 TinyPNG Image Optimization – Image Compression JPEG & PNG | Convert to WebP & AVIF 100K+ · 4.5★ (181) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Imagify Image Optimization: Optimize Images | Compress & Convert to WebP/AVIF 900K+ · 4.3★ (1657) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Optimole – Optimize Images | Convert WebP & AVIF | CDN & Lazy Load | Image Optimization 200K+ · 4.7★ (640) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 Cimo – Free Instant Image Optimizer & WebP Converter 10K+ · 4.9★ (20) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Redis Object Cache 500K+ · 4.5★ (179) wp.org #6 7 NitroPack – Performance, Page Speed & Cache Plugin for Core Web Vitals, CDN & Image Optimization 80K+ · 4.3★ (311) wp.org #11 ↓1 4 too low 8 Enable Media Replace 600K+ · 4.4★ (302) wp.org #10 ↑2 2 too low 9 Gallery by Visual Portfolio 50K+ · 4.8★ (340) wp.org #14 5 too low 10 Seraphinite Accelerator 50K+ · 4.8★ (476) wp.org #18 8 too low 11 WP Compress – Instant Performance & Speed Optimization 9K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #12 ↓1 1 too low 12 Highcompress Image Compressor 600+ · 4.9★ (143) wp.org #17 ↓1 5 too low 13 FastPixel Cache – Optimize Page Speed: Compress Images, Minify, Clean Database & CDN 4K+ · 4.8★ (50) wp.org #13 14 Raina Image Compression 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #2 12 too high 15 Images Optimize and Upload CF7 700+ · 4.8★ (14) wp.org #9 6 too high 16 JCH Optimize 4K+ · 4.4★ (69) wp.org #16 ↑1 17 PDF Compressor & Watermark – iLovePDF 600+ · 3.4★ (5) wp.org #8 9 too high 18 Image Quality Control | Still BE 400+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #15 3 too high 19 PixGrow Image Optimizer 90+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too low 20 AI Featured Image 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 ↑4 1 too high 21 WebP Image Optimization 80+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too high 22 Uplink Media Bridge for Etch 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 ↓1 1 too low 23 EffortLess Simple Image Optimiser 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too high 24 SpeedSize Image & Video AI-Optimizer 400+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #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.