wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “core plugins”
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 “core plugins”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 4 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
Disable Updates for WordPress Core, Plugins and Themes shows at wp.org #5 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 9K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.8★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) places #6 on merit, 4.9★ from 8869 reviews, but shows at wp.org #12. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706)
wp.org #1 2 
Payment Plugins for Stripe WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.8★ (303) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #2 3 
WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #3 4 
WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228)
wp.org #6 2 too low 5 
Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517)
wp.org #10 ↑2 5 too low 6 Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869)
wp.org #12 6 too low 7 
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint
wp.org #9 ↑1 2 too low 8 
Core Framework 10K+ · 5.0★ (41) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #4 4 too high 9 
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281)
wp.org #13 ↓3 4 too low 10 
Easy Updates Manager 300K+ · 4.8★ (726)
wp.org #15 ↑1 5 too low 11 
Payment Plugins for PayPal WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (127) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #8 ↑1 3 too high 12 
Core Rollback 20K+ · 4.7★ (16) thin reviews
wp.org #7 ↓1 5 too high 13 
Freesoul Deactivate Plugins – Disable plugins on individual WordPress pages 8K+ · 4.8★ (104)
wp.org #14 1 too low 14 
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #24 ↓1 10 too low 15 
FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410)
wp.org #21 6 too low 16 
WP Rollback – Rollback Plugins and Themes 200K+ · 4.9★ (215)
wp.org #23 ↓3 7 too low 17 
WP Downgrade | Specific Core Version 100K+ · 4.8★ (169)
wp.org #22 ↑2 5 too low 18 
GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #17 ↓2 1 too high 19 
Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641)
wp.org #19 20 
Plugins Garbage Collector (Database Cleanup) 10K+ · 4.4★ (92)
wp.org #20 ↑1 21 Disable Updates for WordPress Core, Plugins and Themes 9K+ · 4.8★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #5 16 too high 22 
SiteGuard WP Plugin 600K+ · 4.3★ (15) throws errorsnot PHP-currenthost-installed base thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↑1 6 too high 23 
Jupiter X Core 70K+ · 1.9★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #11 12 too high 24 
Hester Core 10K+ · 2.5★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↑1 6 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.