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

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 “correct”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 5 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

Portugal States (Distritos) for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #15 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 5K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 9 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin signals wp.org

All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) not PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #1 2

Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #2 3

WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346) wp.org #3 4

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5

Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #4 ↑2 1 too high 6

Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #9 ↓2 3 too low 7

Really Simple CAPTCHA 300K+ · 4.2★ (131) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too high 8

Quiz Maker by AYS 20K+ · 4.9★ (601) wp.org #11 ↑6 3 too low 9

Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #7 ↑1 2 too high 10

Table of Contents Plus – Automatic Table of Contents for Posts & Pages 200K+ · 4.5★ (187) wp.org #8 ↑2 2 too high 11

AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874) wp.org #13 ↑7 2 too low 12

All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #12 13

WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1916) wp.org #14 ↓1 1 too low 14

Easy Digital Downloads – eCommerce Payments and Subscriptions made easy 40K+ · 4.7★ (591) wp.org #21 ↑3 7 too low 15

Business Directory Plugin – Easy Listing & Member Directories for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (504) wp.org #20 ↑2 5 too low 16

HD Quiz 6K+ · 4.9★ (145) wp.org #16 ↓1 17

Safe SVG 1M+ · 4.9★ (79) host-installed base wp.org #10 ↓1 7 too high 18

WP Accessibility 60K+ · 4.8★ (68) wp.org #17 1 too high 19

WPFront Scroll Top 200K+ · 4.9★ (142) wp.org #22 ↓3 3 too low 20

MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #18 ↓7 2 too high 21

Embed PDF Viewer 20K+ · 4.7★ (19) thin reviews wp.org #19 ↓3 2 too high 22

Five Star Business Profile and Schema 7K+ · 4.8★ (52) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #23 1 too low 23

Kybernaut IČO DIČ 2K+ · 5.0★ (38) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #24 ↓3 1 too low 24

Portugal States (Distritos) for WooCommerce 5K+ · 5.0★ (9) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #15 ↓1 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.