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

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 snapshot”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 3 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

Resetify – Advanced Reset & Database Cleaner shows at wp.org #8 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 100+ 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

Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection places #10 on merit, 4.6★ from 3992 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Database Reset 10K+ · 4.5★ (77) wp.org #1 2 WP Reset 300K+ · 4.8★ (1014) wp.org #2 3 WPvivid — Backup, Migration & Staging 900K+ · 4.9★ (1568) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 NinjaScanner – Virus & Malware scan 40K+ · 4.0★ (36) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Advanced WordPress Reset – Debug, Recover & Reset WP 10K+ · 4.9★ (1233) wp.org #11 ↓4 6 too low 6 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #9 ↑5 3 too low 7 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #4 ↑1 3 too high 8 Quttera ThreatSign – Web Malware Scanner for WordPress 10K+ · 3.9★ (47) wp.org #5 ↓1 3 too high 9 Export All URLs 50K+ · 4.6★ (94) wp.org #12 ↓2 3 too low 10 Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992) wp.org #23 ↓5 13 too low 11 Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall 100K+ · 4.5★ (373) wp.org #21 10 too low 12 Smart COD for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.6★ (52) wp.org #14 2 too low 13 FAZ Cookie Manager 3K+ · 5.0★ (30) wp.org #19 ↓3 6 too low 14 Cowboy MCP – Free MCP Server with Undo for Claude & ChatGPT 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #7 ↑2 7 too high 15 Flow-Flow Social Streams 7K+ · 3.3★ (100) wp.org #17 ↓2 2 too low 16 Patchstack – WordPress & Plugins Security 100K+ · 4.8★ (62) wp.org #18 ↓1 2 too low 17 Insights from Google PageSpeed 10K+ · 4.8★ (28) wp.org #20 3 too low 18 FluentAuth – Login Security, Two-Factor Authentication, Passkeys & Social Login 10K+ · 4.1★ (35) wp.org #22 ↑1 4 too low 19 NHR Database Cleaner & Optimizer – Revisions, Transients, Autoload & Options Manager 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #16 ↓5 3 too high 20 Resetify – Advanced Reset & Database Cleaner 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 12 too high 21 SnapShots 20+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #10 11 too high 22 SAC Database Inspector 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 ↓1 9 too high 23 RVS Database Doctor 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↓2 8 too high 24 Feather – Elementor Performance Optimizer | Asset Cleanup, Page Speed & Database Cleanup 90+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24 ↓3

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.