wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “deactivate”
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 “deactivate”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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
SMNTCS Deactivate Image Compression shows at wp.org #5 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Freesoul Deactivate Plugins – Disable plugins on individual WordPress pages 8K+ · 4.8★ (104)
wp.org #1 2 
FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410)
wp.org #4 ↓1 2 too low 3 
Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) not PHP-current
wp.org #3 4 
Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1463) not PHP-current
wp.org #6 2 too low 5 
WP Plugin Manager – Deactivate plugins per page 3K+ · 4.4★ (23) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #2 3 too high 6 
Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641)
wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too low 7 
User Role Editor 700K+ · 4.5★ (288)
wp.org #9 ↓2 2 too low 8 
Secure Custom Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (69) heavy footprint
wp.org #8 ↓4 9 
Slim Maintenance Mode 10K+ · 5.0★ (63)
wp.org #12 ↓2 3 too low 10 
Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses and Phone Numbers 90K+ · 4.9★ (94)
wp.org #13 ↓2 3 too low 11 
Plugin Load Filter 7K+ · 4.8★ (52)
wp.org #11 ↓3 12 
Click to Chat – HoliThemes 600K+ · 4.8★ (131)
wp.org #14 2 too low 13 
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) not PHP-current
wp.org #18 ↓6 5 too low 14 
Simple Image Sizes 60K+ · 4.6★ (91)
wp.org #17 ↓3 3 too low 15 
Lightbox for Gallery & Image Block 20K+ · 5.0★ (88)
wp.org #22 ↓3 7 too low 16 
Log cleaner for Kadence Security 7K+ · 5.0★ (22) thin reviews
wp.org #15 1 too high 17 
Maintenance & Coming Soon Redirect Animation 3K+ · 5.0★ (34)
wp.org #20 ↓5 3 too low 18 
Unbloater 5K+ · 5.0★ (17) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↓3 2 too high 19 
Disable Embeds 10K+ · 4.3★ (20) thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↓5 2 too low 20 
Disable Comments 100K+ · 3.8★ (25)
wp.org #19 1 too high 21 
Disable WooCommerce Reviews 2K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #23 ↓3 2 too low 22 SMNTCS Deactivate Image Compression 1K+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviewslow rating, top placement
wp.org #5 17 too high 23 
Deactivate XML-RPC Service 100+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #10 ↓1 13 too high 24 
Disable Global Style 500+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #24 ↓7 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.