wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “doubles”
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 “doubles”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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
Double Youpï Refined Admin Dashboard – Admin Theme with Dark Mode & Media Folders shows at wp.org #11 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 70+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Customer Reviews for WooCommerce places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 1539 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.
Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205)
wp.org #2 ↑10 1 too low 2 
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281)
wp.org #3 1 too low 3 
Booking Calendar 40K+ · 4.8★ (657)
wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 
Double Opt-In for Contact Form 7 – Secure, GDPR-Compliant Email Verification 1K+ · 5.0★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #1 3 too high 5 
Poptin – Email Marketing Automation, Newsletter & Exit Pop Ups, Email Popups 20K+ · 4.9★ (701)
wp.org #6 ↓2 1 too low 6 
Paid Membership Subscriptions – Effortless Memberships, Recurring Payments & Content Restriction 10K+ · 4.7★ (270)
wp.org #5 ↓3 1 too high 7 
MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157)
wp.org #7 ↓2 8 
Appointment Hour Booking – Booking Calendar 10K+ · 4.9★ (524)
wp.org #10 ↑1 2 too low 9 
Rate My Post – Star Rating Plugin by FeedbackWP 20K+ · 4.7★ (159)
wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too high 10 Customer Reviews for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (1539)
wp.org #14 ↓6 4 too low 11 
Brevo – Email, SMS, Web Push, Chat, and more. 100K+ · 4.1★ (284)
wp.org #9 ↓3 2 too high 12 
Booking for Appointments and Events Calendar – Amelia 90K+ · 4.6★ (793)
wp.org #16 ↑3 4 too low 13 
AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874)
wp.org #20 7 too low 14 
Connect Contact Form 7 to Mailchimp, Brevo, MailerLite, Klaviyo, GetResponse, EmailOctopus, Campaign Monitor & Moosend 40K+ · 4.3★ (190)
wp.org #13 1 too high 15 
Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807)
wp.org #17 ↓7 2 too low 16 
GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708)
wp.org #24 ↓9 8 too low 17 
Bogo 10K+ · 4.5★ (48)
wp.org #15 ↓1 2 too high 18 
Multi Step for Contact Form 7 10K+ · 4.7★ (77)
wp.org #21 ↑3 3 too low 19 
GDPR 10K+ · 4.3★ (58)
wp.org #19 ↓2 20 
Campos Checkout Brasileiro para WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.9★ (45)
wp.org #22 2 too low 21 
Bookit — Booking & Appointment Calendar 4K+ · 3.8★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #12 ↓3 9 too high 22 Double Youpï Refined Admin Dashboard – Admin Theme with Dark Mode & Media Folders 70+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #11 11 too high 23 
Email Marketing Plugin – WP Email Capture 1K+ · 4.3★ (19) thin reviews
wp.org #23 ↓5 24 
Add-on Brevo for Gravity Forms 1K+ · 4.8★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↓2 6 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.