wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “contributors post”
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 “contributors post”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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
Molongui Post Contributors: Multi-Role Contributor Attribution shows at wp.org #12 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 400+ 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
Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 418 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296)
wp.org #1 2 
Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1237)
wp.org #2 3 
Post Duplicator 200K+ · 4.8★ (80)
wp.org #3 4 
The Post Grid – Shortcode, Gutenberg Blocks and Elementor Addon for Post Grid 100K+ · 4.8★ (265)
wp.org #5 1 too low 5 
Post Type Switcher 200K+ · 4.8★ (255)
wp.org #6 1 too low 6 
WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #4 2 too high 7 
The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461)
wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too low 8 Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418)
wp.org #17 ↓3 9 too low 9 
Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) not PHP-current
wp.org #11 ↓3 2 too low 10 
Post Grid Addon for Elementor 10K+ · 4.9★ (76)
wp.org #15 5 too low 11 
Post and Page Builder by BoldGrid – Visual Drag and Drop Editor 50K+ · 4.7★ (140)
wp.org #19 ↑1 8 too low 12 
Archive Content with Archived Post Status 5K+ · 4.9★ (36)
wp.org #13 ↓1 1 too low 13 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #23 ↓1 10 too low 14 
Duplicate Post – duplicate pages, copy content, clone posts 5K+ · 4.7★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #7 ↑10 7 too high 15 C Custom Post Type Widgets 10K+ · 4.8★ (14) thin reviews
wp.org #14 ↓1 1 too high 16 
WP Post Page Clone 70K+ · 4.5★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #9 7 too high 17 
WP Post Author – Author Box, Multiple Authors, Guest Authors & Custom Avatars 10K+ · 4.2★ (22) thin reviews
wp.org #16 1 too high 18 
Advanced Post Block – Display Your Posts Exactly How You Want 10K+ · 4.2★ (17) not PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #10 8 too high 19 
Menu In Post 2K+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #20 ↑1 1 too low 20 
Event Post 1K+ · 4.3★ (35) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #24 ↓1 4 too low 21 
Post Lockdown 1K+ · 4.6★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #18 3 too high 22 
Easy Post Submission – Frontend Posting, Guest Publishing & Submit Content for WordPress 4K+ · 4.5★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #22 ↓3 23 Molongui Post Contributors: Multi-Role Contributor Attribution 400+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #12 ↓1 11 too high 24 
Publish Post Email Notification 600+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #21 3 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.