Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “cornerstone”

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 “cornerstone”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Commerce7 for WordPress shows at wp.org #4 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 1K+ 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

OAuth Single Sign On – SSO (OAuth Client) places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 327 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 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Jetpack Boost – Website Speed, Performance and Critical CSS 200K+ · 4.7★ (612) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Contextual Related Posts 50K+ · 4.8★ (201) wp.org #6 ↑1 3 too low 4 C Cornerstone 20K+ · 4.0★ (6) wp.org #1 3 too high 5 FunnelKit – Funnel Builder Plugin for WooCommerce Checkout 30K+ · 5.0★ (1028) wp.org #14 ↑1 9 too low 6 Dark Mode – Improve Accessibility with AI Powered Dark Theme 20K+ · 4.5★ (391) wp.org #15 ↑2 9 too low 7 OAuth Single Sign On – SSO (OAuth Client) 6K+ · 4.9★ (327) wp.org #18 ↓2 11 too low 8 Knowledge Base documentation & wiki plugin – BasePress Docs 2K+ · 4.8★ (75) wp.org #10 ↑1 2 too low 9 CatFolders – WordPress Media Library Folders & Categories 6K+ · 4.3★ (22) wp.org #9 ↑1 10 Broadcast 1K+ · 4.9★ (214) wp.org #19 ↑1 9 too low 11 Darkify – Dark Mode & Night Mode for Website & Admin (Dark Theme Included) 1K+ · 4.7★ (27) wp.org #16 ↑3 5 too low 12 Interlinks Manager – Internal Links Optimizer 7K+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #5 ↑1 7 too high 13 Groovy Menu Plugin (Free) 4K+ · 3.6★ (25) wp.org #12 ↑1 1 too high 14 Secure MCP Server for Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini and other AI Agents 8K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #13 ↑1 1 too high 15 CSV Importer Plus for ACF 400+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #8 ↑1 7 too high 16 WebTotem Security 700+ · 4.2★ (13) wp.org #11 ↑1 5 too high 17 ChatHelp – Click to Chat Button, Chat to Order for WooCommerce & Floating Chat Form 2K+ · 4.4★ (9) wp.org #17 ↑1 18 SEO Auto Linker 3K+ · 4.3★ (16) wp.org #21 3 too low 19 Commerce7 for WordPress 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 ↑1 15 too high 20 IssueM 600+ · 4.1★ (13) wp.org #23 ↑1 3 too low 21 Accessibility Assistant – EAA ADA WCAG AODA 100+ · 4.3★ (9) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 Clear Cache Everywhere 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 ↑1 15 too high 23 Mediaspy – Detect & Clean Unused Media 70+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #20 ↑2 3 too high 24 Interlink – Internal Links Manager, Orphan Page Finder & SEO Link Suggestions 40+ · 3.0★ (1) wp.org #22 ↑1 2 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.