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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “content toc”

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 toc”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

Mocursor Smart TOC shows at wp.org #13 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

LuckyWP Table of Contents places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 884 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Table of Contents Plus – Automatic Table of Contents for Posts & Pages 200K+ · 4.5★ (187) wp.org #1 2 Easy Table of Contents 600K+ · 4.4★ (221) wp.org #2 3 SimpleTOC – Table of Contents Block 10K+ · 4.9★ (77) wp.org #3 ↑5 4 BetterDocs – AI Documentation, Knowledge Base, MCP Server, Docs, Wikis, FAQ & Chatbot 30K+ · 4.8★ (515) wp.org #8 ↓1 4 too low 5 Joli Table Of Contents – Table of Contents with Gutenberg Block & Shortcode 7K+ · 4.9★ (43) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Content Egg – Affiliate Product Importer & Price Comparison 10K+ · 3.9★ (56) wp.org #6 ↓1 7 Gutenberg Essential Blocks – Page Builder for Gutenberg Blocks & Patterns 100K+ · 4.9★ (216) wp.org #12 ↑1 5 too low 8 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #14 ↑3 6 too low 9 LuckyWP Table of Contents 90K+ · 4.9★ (884) wp.org #20 ↓1 11 too low 10 Echo Knowledge Base – Documentation, FAQs, Chat & Smart Search 10K+ · 4.9★ (124) wp.org #17 ↑1 7 too low 11 Knowledge Base documentation & wiki plugin – BasePress Docs 2K+ · 4.8★ (75) wp.org #19 ↑1 8 too low 12 Heroic Table of Contents 5K+ · 4.7★ (10) wp.org #9 3 too high 13 Table Of Content Block – Auto-Generate Clickable Table of Contents 3K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #5 ↓2 8 too high 14 Glossary 2K+ · 4.7★ (84) wp.org #23 ↓1 9 too low 15 GutenTOC – Advanced Table of Contents 600+ · 4.7★ (12) wp.org #11 4 too high 16 Table Of Contents Block 10K+ · 4.3★ (7) wp.org #7 ↓1 9 too high 17 Rich Table of Contents 20K+ · 4.1★ (17) wp.org #16 1 too high 18 CM Table Of Contents – Clear navigation for better content discovery 100+ · 3.3★ (9) wp.org #10 8 too high 19 Footnotes & Content 100+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #22 ↑1 3 too low 20 Muki Floating TOC 10+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #18 ↓6 2 too high 21 T TOC Accordion for Rank Math 60+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 22 F70 Simple Table of Contents 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 Mocursor Smart TOC 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 ↑1 10 too high 24 Table of Contents (TOC) Block – Fast & SEO Friendly 10+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #15 9 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.