wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “detect”
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 “detect”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 2 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
WPG Detect Browser shows at wp.org #5 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 16 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
Advanced Database Cleaner – Optimize & Clean Database to Speed Up Site Performance places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 1962 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.
Geolocation IP Detection 20K+ · 4.7★ (59)
wp.org #2 1 too low 2 
All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720)
wp.org #4 2 too low 3 
Mobile Detect 3K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #1 2 too high 4 
Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220)
wp.org #7 3 too low 5 
Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869)
wp.org #12 ↑2 7 too low 6 
FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410)
wp.org #10 ↓1 4 too low 7 
WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway 700K+ · 3.1★ (237) throws errorsnot PHP-current low rating, top placement
wp.org #3 4 too high 8 
Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1668)
wp.org #13 5 too low 9 Advanced Database Cleaner – Optimize & Clean Database to Speed Up Site Performance 100K+ · 4.9★ (1962)
wp.org #19 ↓8 10 too low 10 
Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519)
wp.org #18 ↓1 8 too low 11 
ThumbPress – Compress Images, Manage Thumbnails, Detect Image Issues, WebP/AVIF, Lazy Loading, Hotlinking & More 20K+ · 3.7★ (117)
wp.org #8 ↓2 3 too high 12 
Import and export users and customers 70K+ · 4.7★ (259)
wp.org #15 ↓1 3 too low 13 
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 #21 ↓1 8 too low 14 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #16 ↑3 2 too low 15 
Blackhole for Bad Bots 30K+ · 4.7★ (148)
wp.org #20 ↓1 5 too low 16 
Widget Detector for Elementor 1K+ · 4.9★ (39)
wp.org #14 ↓2 2 too high 17 
Conditional Display for Mobile – Mobile Detect Plugin 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #6 11 too high 18 
Auto Upload Images 20K+ · 4.3★ (106)
wp.org #24 ↓2 6 too low 19 
Sucuri Security – Auditing, Malware Scanner and Security Hardening 600K+ · 4.2★ (386) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #17 2 too high 20 
Detect Missing Adblocker 50+ · 4.0★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #11 ↓2 9 too high 21 W WPG Detect Browser 100+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #5 16 too high 22 
Optimization Detective 60K+ · 4.3★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #9 ↓1 13 too high 23 
Device Detect 20+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too high 24 
Incognito Window Detect 10+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #23 1 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.