Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “digg this”

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 “digg this”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

Socicon shows at wp.org #9 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Professional Social Sharing Buttons, Icons & Related Posts – Shareaholic places #9 on merit, 4.4★ from 1053 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Social Share Icons & Social Share Buttons 10K+ · 4.9★ (1911) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 Social Media Share Buttons & Social Sharing Icons 100K+ · 4.8★ (5333) wp.org #3 ↓2 1 too low 3 AMP for WP – Accelerated Mobile Pages 70K+ · 4.4★ (1319) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Social Login, Social Sharing by miniOrange 10K+ · 4.6★ (356) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Admin Custom Login 10K+ · 4.6★ (388) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Share This Image 1K+ · 4.1★ (22) wp.org #2 ↑1 4 too high 7 Social Rocket – Social Sharing Plugin 1K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #4 3 too high 8 Team Members – A WordPress Team Plugin with Gallery, Grid, Carousel, Slider, Table, List, and More 2K+ · 4.7★ (91) wp.org #11 3 too low 9 Professional Social Sharing Buttons, Icons & Related Posts – Shareaholic 10K+ · 4.4★ (1053) wp.org #22 13 too low 10 Solid Testimonials – Testimonial Slider, Video Testimonials & Customer Reviews 1K+ · 4.3★ (35) wp.org #10 11 GS Books Showcase – Display Books in Grid, Slider & More | Library for WordPress 500+ · 4.8★ (42) wp.org #15 ↓1 4 too low 12 Social Media Widget 30K+ · 3.9★ (84) wp.org #24 12 too low 13 Good old Share 60+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #8 5 too high 14 W Warm Cache 300+ · 4.3★ (19) wp.org #20 6 too low 15 Meks Smart Social Widget 10K+ · 4.6★ (10) wp.org #18 ↓1 3 too low 16 Spexo Addons for Elementor – Elementor Widgets, Mega Menu, Popup Builder, Template Kits and Starter Templates for Elementor 6K+ · 4.8★ (4) wp.org #12 4 too high 17 Socicon 200+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #9 8 too high 18 ModuloBox – NextGen Lightbox 200+ · 4.8★ (6) wp.org #23 5 too low 19 ShareToSocial – Social Media Share Buttons & Sharing Icons 100+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #16 3 too high 20 Social Media Shortcodes 40+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 ↑2 7 too high 21 Eventful for Elementor – Events Showcase for The Events Calendar 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 ↓1 7 too high 22 WiraKit For Elementor – Powerful Elementor Widgets And Theme Builder 70+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 ↑1 5 too high 23 Share It for All Users on BuddyPress YR 10+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #19 4 too high 24 Algori Social Share Buttons 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 3 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.