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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “dir limit”

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 “dir limit”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

Traducto – Automatic Website Translation shows at wp.org #10 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 50+ 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

Iptanus File Upload places #12 on merit, 4.4★ from 117 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 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (398) wp.org #1 2 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #2 ↑2 3 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Equalize Digital Accessibility Checker – WCAG, ADA, EAA and Section 508 compliance 10K+ · 4.9★ (80) wp.org #4 ↓1 5 BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Download Manager 90K+ · 4.1★ (1006) wp.org #9 ↓1 3 too low 7 Faktur Pro for WooCommerce 900+ · 4.6★ (32) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 WPAppsDev – CF7 Form Submission Limit 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #3 ↓1 5 too high 9 Seraphinite Post .DOCX Source 800+ · 4.6★ (45) wp.org #8 ↑1 1 too high 10 XML Sitemap & Google News 100K+ · 4.4★ (85) wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too low 11 affiliate-toolkit – Multi-Network Affiliate & Amazon Product Display 2K+ · 4.5★ (22) wp.org #11 ↓1 12 Iptanus File Upload 10K+ · 4.4★ (117) wp.org #22 10 too low 13 iQ Block Country 20K+ · 3.9★ (166) wp.org #21 8 too low 14 Security Safe 600+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #13 ↓1 1 too high 15 atec Cache Info 1K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #12 ↓1 3 too high 16 WP-ServerInfo 10K+ · 4.8★ (17) wp.org #18 2 too low 17 Additional Custom Emails & Recipients for WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (18) wp.org #20 3 too low 18 WP2LEADS | WordPress und KlickTipp einfach verbinden – WooCommerce und KlickTipp einfach verbinden 70+ · 4.8★ (13) wp.org #15 3 too high 19 Falcon – Cache, Performance, Security, Cleanup, and Tweaks 2K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #16 3 too high 20 Klaviyo 100K+ · 2.8★ (24) wp.org #19 1 too high 21 Traducto – Automatic Website Translation 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 ↑7 11 too high 22 Postnova for MCP 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 ↓3 5 too high 23 Zamok – Security and Site Tools 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↓1 24 Tranzly™ – AI Translation & Multilingual 7K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24 ↓1

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.