wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “content changes”
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 “content changes”, 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
List Last Changes shows at wp.org #7 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.8★ average from 11 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
PublishPress Revisions: Duplicate Posts, Submit, Approve and Schedule Content Changes 10K+ · 4.6★ (66)
wp.org #1 2 
Schedule Post Changes With PublishPress Future: Unpublish, Delete, Change Status, Trash, Change Categories 100K+ · 4.5★ (172)
wp.org #2 3 
Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418)
wp.org #3 4 
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5040)
wp.org #4 5 
Content Views – Post Grid & Filter (Shortcode, Blocks, Elementor Widgets) 100K+ · 4.8★ (333)
wp.org #5 6 
Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes 300K+ · 4.9★ (491)
wp.org #6 7 
WP Content Copy Protection & No Right Click 100K+ · 4.8★ (1139)
wp.org #8 1 too low 8 
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27820)
wp.org #10 2 too low 9 
Content Control – The Ultimate Content Restriction Solution! Restrict Content, Create Conditional Blocks & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (575)
wp.org #9 10 
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #11 1 too low 11 
SSL Insecure Content Fixer 100K+ · 4.8★ (221)
wp.org #13 2 too low 12 
Table of Contents Plus – Automatic Table of Contents for Posts & Pages 200K+ · 4.5★ (187)
wp.org #12 13 
Paid Membership Subscriptions – Effortless Memberships, Recurring Payments & Content Restriction 10K+ · 4.7★ (270)
wp.org #16 3 too low 14 
Content Aware Sidebars – Fastest Widget Area Plugin 30K+ · 4.9★ (724)
wp.org #23 9 too low 15 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322)
wp.org #24 9 too low 16 List Last Changes 1K+ · 4.8★ (11) thin reviews
wp.org #7 9 too high 17 
Secure Copy Content Protection and Content Locking 20K+ · 4.3★ (62)
wp.org #14 3 too high 18 
Disabled Source, Disabled Right Click and Content Protection 10K+ · 4.9★ (103)
wp.org #21 3 too low 19 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #20 1 too low 20 
MxChat – AI Chatbot & Content Generation for WordPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (31)
wp.org #15 5 too high 21 
Timed Content 5K+ · 4.6★ (41)
wp.org #19 2 too high 22 
ACF Content Analysis for Yoast SEO 100K+ · 4.1★ (35)
wp.org #18 4 too high 23 
Content Egg – Affiliate Product Importer & Price Comparison 10K+ · 3.9★ (56)
wp.org #22 1 too high 24 
Essential Content Types 20K+ · 3.7★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #17 7 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.