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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “drill down”

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 “drill down”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 3 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 #8 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 12 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

Loggedin – Session Manager, Limit Concurrent Logins & Force Logout places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 112 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157) wp.org #1 2 PublishPress Planner – Editorial Calendar, Marketing Content, Kanban Board 6K+ · 4.9★ (178) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Disk Usage Sunburst 9K+ · 4.8★ (36) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Echo Knowledge Base – Documentation, FAQs, Chat & Smart Search 10K+ · 4.9★ (124) wp.org #4 ↑1 5 Uncanny Toolkit for LearnDash 20K+ · 4.8★ (105) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Co-Authors, Multiple Authors and Guest Authors in an Author Box with PublishPress Authors 20K+ · 4.9★ (114) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too high 7 SlimStat Analytics – Real-Time Stats, Heatmaps & Ecommerce 70K+ · 4.8★ (816) wp.org #11 4 too low 8 Showcase IDX Real Estate Search & Lead Capture 2K+ · 3.8★ (35) wp.org #6 2 too high 9 Loggedin – Session Manager, Limit Concurrent Logins & Force Logout 8K+ · 4.9★ (112) wp.org #21 12 too low 10 Embed Files from Google Drive 4K+ · 4.0★ (48) wp.org #19 9 too low 11 WPB Accordion Menu – Collapsible Vertical Sidebar Responsive Mobile Menu – WooCommerce Category Accordion 10K+ · 4.4★ (54) wp.org #16 ↓1 5 too low 12 Putler – Simple WooCommerce Analytics for your Store 200+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #14 ↓1 2 too low 13 Metorik – Reports & Email Automation for WooCommerce 9K+ · 5.0★ (20) wp.org #17 ↑1 4 too low 14 Membership Plugin – Kadence Memberships 8K+ · 3.1★ (100) wp.org #15 ↓1 1 too low 15 API Stats 80+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #9 ↓1 6 too high 16 Logify WP – Activity Log & User Audit Log 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #12 ↓2 4 too high 17 Traffic Monitor 900+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #18 ↓1 1 too low 18 DBStorage Insights 40+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 ↓1 5 too high 19 REPORTiT – Advanced Reporting for WooCommerce 600+ · 3.0★ (6) wp.org #10 ↓1 9 too high 20 Disk Usage Details 70+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 ↑8 12 too high 21 ZenMarkup Privacy Analytics 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 2 too low 22 LanceDesk Responsive Menu for Elementor 60+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 2 too high 23 INI Protector 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 ↑2 1 too high 24 Awin Data Feed 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24 ↓2

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.