wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “daily”
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 “daily”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.
Ranked above its merit
Daily Readings shows at wp.org #3 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 20 places. Its 200+ 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
WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 2470 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5040)
wp.org #1 2 
Daily Prayer Time 1K+ · 4.9★ (96)
wp.org #2 3 
UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8709)
wp.org #5 2 too low 4 
Antispam Bee 700K+ · 4.8★ (226)
wp.org #6 2 too low 5 
Keep Backup Daily 200+ · 4.4★ (45)
wp.org #4 1 too high 6 
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #11 ↑1 5 too low 7 WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470)
wp.org #13 6 too low 8 
WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617)
wp.org #10 2 too low 9 
FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410)
wp.org #9 10 
Jetpack Protect 100K+ · 4.6★ (123)
wp.org #8 ↑3 2 too high 11 
WPvivid — Backup, Migration & Staging 900K+ · 4.9★ (1568)
wp.org #12 ↓4 1 too low 12 
Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940)
wp.org #15 ↑1 3 too low 13 
Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7520)
wp.org #16 ↓2 3 too low 14 
Product Feed PRO for WooCommerce by AdTribes – Product Feeds for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.7★ (1072)
wp.org #22 8 too low 15 
NinjaFirewall (WP Edition) – Advanced Security Plugin and Firewall 100K+ · 4.9★ (220)
wp.org #18 ↑5 3 too low 16 
All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720)
wp.org #21 5 too low 17 
Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517)
wp.org #24 7 too low 18 
SecuPress with Simple SSL – Simple and Performant Security 40K+ · 4.1★ (106)
wp.org #14 ↑1 4 too high 19 
WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (758)
wp.org #20 1 too low 20 
BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55)
wp.org #17 ↑2 3 too high 21 
Citatly – Daily Quote 40+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #7 14 too high 22 
Bible Verse of the Day 3K+ · 4.9★ (11) thin reviews
wp.org #23 ↓2 1 too low 23 Daily Readings 200+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #3 20 too high 24 
Mevabi – Daily Word Puzzle 20+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #19 5 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.