wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “default post”
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 “default post”, 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
Default Post Author shows at wp.org #2 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 1K+ 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
Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager places #11 on merit, 5.0★ from 1525 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.
Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296)
wp.org #1 2 
Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528)
wp.org #3 1 too low 3 
Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (587)
wp.org #6 ↓1 3 too low 4 
Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276)
wp.org #4 ↑3 5 
Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1236)
wp.org #8 ↑3 3 too low 6 
Default Featured Image 50K+ · 4.8★ (69)
wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too high 7 
Schedule Post Changes With PublishPress Future: Unpublish, Delete, Change Status, Trash, Change Categories 100K+ · 4.5★ (172)
wp.org #7 ↓1 8 
The Post Grid – Shortcode, Gutenberg Blocks and Elementor Addon for Post Grid 100K+ · 4.8★ (265)
wp.org #11 3 too low 9 
Post Duplicator 200K+ · 4.8★ (80)
wp.org #9 ↓1 10 
Post Type Switcher 200K+ · 4.8★ (255)
wp.org #12 ↓2 2 too low 11 Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1525)
wp.org #19 ↓1 8 too low 12 
Ultimate Post Kit – Elementor Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider & Blog Layout Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (58)
wp.org #10 ↓1 2 too high 13 
Duplicate Post 300K+ · 4.9★ (1623)
wp.org #24 ↓2 11 too low 14 
Smart Post – Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider Gutenberg Blocks for Blog & News 20K+ · 4.7★ (210) heavy footprint
wp.org #15 ↓2 1 too low 15 
Public Post Preview 100K+ · 4.6★ (79)
wp.org #14 ↓2 1 too high 16 Default Post Author 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #2 14 too high 17 
Post Grid 30K+ · 4.3★ (163)
wp.org #20 ↓3 3 too low 18 
Custom Post Type Permalinks 200K+ · 4.8★ (71)
wp.org #17 ↓2 1 too high 19 
Table of Contents Plus – Automatic Table of Contents for Posts & Pages 200K+ · 4.5★ (187)
wp.org #22 ↓1 3 too low 20 
Auto Featured Image (Auto Post Thumbnail) 40K+ · 3.8★ (119) not PHP-current
wp.org #18 ↓2 2 too high 21 
Post Slider and Post Carousel with Post Vertical Scrolling Widget – A Responsive Post Slider 10K+ · 4.7★ (31)
wp.org #21 ↓2 22 
Paste As Plain Text By Default 2K+ · 5.0★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↓2 6 too high 23 
Display Post Types – Post Grid, post list and post sliders 8K+ · 5.0★ (26) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #23 ↓3 24 
Duplicate Post – duplicate pages, copy content, clone posts 5K+ · 4.7★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #13 11 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.