wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “count words”
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 “count words”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 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
Word Counter Plus shows at wp.org #4 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 18 places. Its 80+ 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
Translate WordPress with Weglot 2.0 – Multilingual AI Translation places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 1940 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
TranslatePress – Translate Multilingual sites with AI Translation 400K+ · 4.7★ (1667)
wp.org #2 1 too low 2 
Count Characters, Words and Paragraphs while typing 300+ · 4.5★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #1 1 too high 3 
Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) heavy footprint
wp.org #5 2 too low 4 
Relevanssi – A Better Search 100K+ · 4.8★ (406)
wp.org #8 4 too low 5 
Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962)
wp.org #11 6 too low 6 
GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155)
wp.org #6 7 Translate WordPress with Weglot 2.0 – Multilingual AI Translation 50K+ · 4.8★ (1940)
wp.org #19 ↓1 12 too low 8 
Quiz Maker by AYS 20K+ · 4.9★ (601)
wp.org #18 ↑5 10 too low 9 
Sortable Word Count Reloaded 2K+ · 3.7★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #3 6 too high 10 
AddToAny Share Buttons 300K+ · 4.7★ (1114) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #14 4 too low 11 A Advanced Excerpt 80K+ · 4.3★ (101)
wp.org #13 2 too low 12 
WP Bulk Delete 90K+ · 4.6★ (131)
wp.org #16 4 too low 13 
Social Feed Gallery 80K+ · 4.5★ (303)
wp.org #20 ↓1 7 too low 14 
Export All URLs 50K+ · 4.6★ (94)
wp.org #17 3 too low 15 
Better Find and Replace – AI-Powered Suggestions 40K+ · 4.6★ (171)
wp.org #21 ↓1 6 too low 16 
Ivory Search – WordPress Search Plugin 90K+ · 4.9★ (1562) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #23 ↓1 7 too low 17 
Simple Blog Stats 4K+ · 4.9★ (38)
wp.org #24 7 too low 18 
WP-ShowHide 9K+ · 4.2★ (43)
wp.org #22 ↓1 4 too low 19 
Limit Comments and Word Count 40+ · 4.4★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #12 7 too high 20 
Post Admin Word Count 2K+ · 3.5★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #7 13 too high 21 
Article Word Count 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviewsstale but ranked
wp.org #9 12 too high 22 Word Counter Plus 80+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #4 18 too high 23 
Post Word Counter – Content Insights Dashboard 200+ · 4.5★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #10 13 too high 24 
Aims Textarea Wordcount with/without Space For Contact Form 7 100+ · 5.0★ (1) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
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.