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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “database cleaner”

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 “database cleaner”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

CodingBunny Database Cleaner shows at wp.org #4 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

MalCare WordPress Security Plugin – Malware Scanner, Cleaner, Security Firewall places #11 on merit, 4.4★ from 559 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Database Cleaner: Cleanup, Optimization & Repair 10K+ · 5.0★ (150) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 Advanced Database Cleaner – Optimize & Clean Database to Speed Up Site Performance 100K+ · 4.9★ (1962) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 Media Cleaner: Delete Unused Images & Clean Your Media Library 90K+ · 4.6★ (778) wp.org #3 4 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Optimize Database after Deleting Revisions 60K+ · 4.7★ (181) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #10 4 too low 7 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #12 5 too low 8 WPS Cleaner 10K+ · 4.3★ (99) wp.org #8 9 Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #15 6 too low 10 LWS Cleaner 20K+ · 4.8★ (16) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 MalCare WordPress Security Plugin – Malware Scanner, Cleaner, Security Firewall 100K+ · 4.4★ (559) wp.org #19 8 too low 12 Log cleaner for Kadence Security 7K+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #9 3 too high 13 Plugins Garbage Collector (Database Cleanup) 10K+ · 4.4★ (92) wp.org #21 ↓3 8 too low 14 Transient Cleaner 1K+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #16 ↓2 2 too low 15 E Easy WP Cleaner 2K+ · 5.0★ (41) wp.org #23 ↓2 8 too low 16 Index WP MySQL For Speed 50K+ · 4.8★ (99) wp.org #24 8 too low 17 Easy Actions Scheduler Cleaner 900+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #14 ↓1 3 too high 18 CodingBunny Database Cleaner 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #4 14 too high 19 WS Action Scheduler Cleaner 3K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #11 8 too high 20 Dashboard Cleaner 400+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #13 ↓1 7 too high 21 W wp_head() cleaner 2K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #17 ↓2 4 too high 22 Cache Cleaner X-Ray – Performance & Database Diagnostics 200+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #18 ↓2 4 too high 23 NHR Database Cleaner & Optimizer – Revisions, Transients, Autoload & Options Manager 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #22 ↓2 1 too high 24 Resetify – Advanced Reset & Database Cleaner 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↓3 4 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.