wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “detailed”
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 “detailed”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 4 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
Detailed Player Stats for SportsPress shows at wp.org #4 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Easy Digital Downloads – eCommerce Payments and Subscriptions made easy places #9 on merit, 4.7★ from 591 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Contact Form 7 10M+ · 4.0★ (2186)
wp.org #1 2 
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint
wp.org #2 3 
LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778)
wp.org #3 4 
Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519)
wp.org #5 1 too low 5 
Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667)
wp.org #6 ↑4 1 too low 6 
UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8708)
wp.org #8 2 too low 7 
WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (758)
wp.org #7 8 
FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410)
wp.org #10 ↑2 2 too low 9 Easy Digital Downloads – eCommerce Payments and Subscriptions made easy 40K+ · 4.7★ (591)
wp.org #14 ↑4 5 too low 10 
Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528)
wp.org #13 ↓2 3 too low 11 
Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) not PHP-current
wp.org #9 2 too high 12 
Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616)
wp.org #16 ↑6 4 too low 13 
Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641)
wp.org #12 ↑3 1 too high 14 
WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209)
wp.org #22 ↑1 8 too low 15 
Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807)
wp.org #20 5 too low 16 
Redirection 2M+ · 4.4★ (703)
wp.org #18 ↑1 2 too low 17 
WP Activity Log 300K+ · 4.7★ (490)
wp.org #23 ↓7 6 too low 18 
MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435) heavy footprint
wp.org #21 ↓4 3 too low 19 Detailed Player Stats for SportsPress 100+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #4 15 too high 20 
Flamingo 800K+ · 4.2★ (121) not PHP-current
wp.org #11 ↑2 9 too high 21 
MultiVendorX – WooCommerce Multivendor Marketplace AI Powered Solutions 2K+ · 4.8★ (432) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #19 2 too high 22 
WP-UserOnline 10K+ · 4.6★ (38)
wp.org #17 ↑4 5 too high 23 
Coupon Affiliates – Affiliate Plugin for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.9★ (77) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #15 ↓1 8 too high 24 
Login Lockdown & Protection 100K+ · 4.3★ (61)
wp.org #24 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.