wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “disk”

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 “disk”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

Disk Usage Details shows at wp.org #5 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 70+ 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

ShortPixel Image Optimizer – Optimize Images, Convert WebP & AVIF places #11 on merit, 4.5★ from 830 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 signals wp.org

Disk Usage Sunburst 9K+ · 4.8★ (36) wp.org #1 2

W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #3 1 too low 3

Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517) wp.org #4 1 too low 4

WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #6 2 too low 5

Disk Usage Insights 1K+ · 5.0★ (12) thin reviews wp.org #2 3 too high 6

Akismet Anti-spam: Spam Protection 5M+ · 4.7★ (1187) wp.org #7 ↓2 1 too low 7

Big File Uploads – Increase Maximum File Upload Size 100K+ · 4.9★ (402) wp.org #12 ↓1 5 too low 8

Imsanity 200K+ · 4.9★ (291) wp.org #11 ↓2 3 too low 9

Docket Cache – Object Cache Accelerator 20K+ · 4.9★ (50) wp.org #9 ↑1 10

Cache Enabler 100K+ · 4.3★ (139) wp.org #10 ↓2 11

ShortPixel Image Optimizer – Optimize Images, Convert WebP & AVIF 300K+ · 4.5★ (830) wp.org #22 11 too low 12

EasyMedia – Increase Media Upload File Size | Role-Based Upload Limit | Increase Execution Time 70K+ · 4.9★ (99) wp.org #17 5 too low 13

WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346) wp.org #20 ↑3 7 too low 14

Hosting Benchmark tool 4K+ · 4.7★ (33) wp.org #16 2 too low 15

404 Solution 10K+ · 4.9★ (44) wp.org #24 ↓5 9 too low 16

Debug Log Manager – Conveniently Monitor and Inspect Errors 10K+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #21 5 too low 17

Code Profiler – WordPress Performance Profiling and Debugging Made Easy 8K+ · 4.3★ (36) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #15 2 too high 18

Surge 4K+ · 4.9★ (31) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #18 19

Object Cache 4 everyone 5K+ · 4.2★ (30) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #14 ↓2 5 too high 20

Offload Media – Cloud Storage 1K+ · 4.4★ (18) thin reviews wp.org #23 3 too low 21

Disk Usage Details 70+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #5 ↑9 16 too high 22

Media Library File Size 6K+ · 4.6★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #19 ↑1 3 too high 23

MyServerInfo – Memory Usage, PHP Version, Memory Limit, Execution Time, CPU Usage, Disk Usage 800+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #13 10 too high 24

Dashboard: Available Disk Space 100+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #8 ↓1 16 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.