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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “csv import”

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 “csv import”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20.

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

WP All Import – Import Add-On for ACF shows at wp.org #3 but places #9 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 50K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Polylang places #12 on merit, 4.7★ from 3004 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Import and export users and customers 70K+ · 4.7★ (259) wp.org #1 2 WP All Import – Drag & Drop Import for CSV, XML, Excel & Google Sheets 100K+ · 4.7★ (1966) wp.org #2 3 R Really Simple CSV Importer 40K+ · 4.9★ (107) wp.org #4 ↑2 1 too low 4 WP Ultimate CSV Importer – WordPress CSV, XML & Excel Import Export 20K+ · 4.4★ (593) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 WP All Import – Product Import for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.7★ (276) wp.org #9 4 too low 6 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #14 ↑4 8 too low 7 Product Import Export for WooCommerce – CSV Product Importer & Exporter 80K+ · 4.6★ (413) wp.org #7 ↓2 8 Import Users from CSV 10K+ · 4.1★ (44) wp.org #6 ↑1 2 too high 9 WP All Import – Import Add-On for ACF 50K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #3 6 too high 10 Export and Import Users and Customers 50K+ · 4.8★ (442) wp.org #10 11 Order Export & Order Import for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.7★ (337) wp.org #11 12 Polylang 900K+ · 4.7★ (3004) wp.org #22 10 too low 13 CSV Importer 3K+ · 4.2★ (28) wp.org #8 5 too high 14 WP Import Export Lite 40K+ · 4.0★ (113) wp.org #15 ↑6 1 too low 15 Media Library Tools – AI-Powered Rename, Clean & CSV Import/Export 2K+ · 4.7★ (14) wp.org #18 ↑5 3 too low 16 CSV Importer Plus for ACF 400+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #13 3 too high 17 Import WP – CSV & XML Import Export for WordPress 4K+ · 4.4★ (25) wp.org #23 ↓1 6 too low 18 WP All Import – Import SEO Settings for Rank Math SEO 6K+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #12 6 too high 19 WP All Import – Import SEO Settings for Yoast SEO 20K+ · 2.8★ (11) wp.org #17 ↓2 2 too high 20 WP All Import – Job Listing Import for WP Job Manager 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 ↓2 4 too high 21 WP All Import – Import SEO Settings for All In One SEO 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 ↓1 22 Export/Import Media – CSV Media Library Import & Export 1K+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #20 ↓3 2 too high 23 Import Users & Customers with Meta | WP Ultimate CSV Importer Add-on 5K+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #19 ↓3 4 too high 24 Import WooCommerce Suite for Products, Orders, Coupons, Reviews, and Customers | WP Ultimate CSV Importer 4K+ · 2.3★ (6) wp.org #24

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.