wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “delete 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 “delete post”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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
Force Delete Posts shows at wp.org #11 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.4★ average from 7 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 1526 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.
WP Bulk Delete 90K+ · 4.6★ (131)
wp.org #1 ↑1 2 
Duplicate Post 300K+ · 4.9★ (1623)
wp.org #2 ↓1 3 
Schedule Post Changes With PublishPress Future: Unpublish, Delete, Change Status, Trash, Change Categories 100K+ · 4.5★ (172)
wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 
Delete Duplicate Posts 10K+ · 4.8★ (153)
wp.org #6 2 too low 5 
Bulk Delete 30K+ · 4.3★ (129)
wp.org #5 6 
Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528)
wp.org #7 1 too low 7 
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039)
wp.org #8 1 too low 8 
Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1237)
wp.org #10 ↑6 2 too low 9 
Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588)
wp.org #9 10 
Auto Delete Post – Ultimate plugin for deleting a post automatically 300+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #3 ↑1 7 too high 11 Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1526)
wp.org #19 ↓1 8 too low 12 
Post Type Switcher 200K+ · 4.8★ (255)
wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too low 13 
WP Comment Cleaner – Delete All Comments, Disable Comments, Bulk Delete & Remove Comments 20K+ · 4.7★ (58)
wp.org #13 ↓2 14 
Simple Revisions Delete 10K+ · 4.9★ (50)
wp.org #14 ↓2 15 
Media Cleaner: Delete Unused Images & Clean Your Media Library 90K+ · 4.6★ (779)
wp.org #24 ↓7 9 too low 16 
DX Delete Attached Media 3K+ · 4.9★ (28)
wp.org #12 ↓1 4 too high 17 
WP Frontend Delete Account 4K+ · 4.6★ (27)
wp.org #17 ↓3 18 
JSM Show Post Metadata 10K+ · 5.0★ (12) thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↓1 3 too low 19 Force Delete Posts 200+ · 4.4★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #11 ↓1 8 too high 20 
MB Custom Post Types & Custom Taxonomies 10K+ · 4.7★ (13) thin reviews
wp.org #23 ↓1 3 too low 21 
Bulk Delete Comments 5K+ · 3.8★ (13) thin reviews
wp.org #15 ↓2 6 too high 22 
Duplicate Post – duplicate pages, copy content, clone posts 5K+ · 4.7★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #18 4 too high 23 
Delete Unscaled Images 900+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too high 24 
Auto Post Cleaner 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #22 ↓1 2 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.