wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “editor view users”
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 “editor view users”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20. 5 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
Better Block Editor (BBE) shows at wp.org #17 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 6K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 11 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
CMS Tree Page View – Reorder Pages with a Drag-and-Drop Tree places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 365 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
User Role Editor 700K+ · 4.5★ (288)
wp.org #1 2 
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281)
wp.org #2 3 
User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738)
wp.org #3 4 
Checkout Field Editor (Checkout Manager) for WooCommerce 400K+ · 4.9★ (1056)
wp.org #5 1 too low 5 
Admin Menu Editor 300K+ · 4.6★ (312)
wp.org #4 1 too high 6 
Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1237)
wp.org #8 2 too low 7 
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821)
wp.org #10 3 too low 8 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #7 1 too high 9 
View Admin As 9K+ · 4.9★ (49)
wp.org #6 3 too high 10 
The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461)
wp.org #11 1 too low 11 CMS Tree Page View – Reorder Pages with a Drag-and-Drop Tree 50K+ · 4.9★ (365)
wp.org #15 4 too low 12 
BEAR – Bulk Editor for WooCommerce Professional. AI assistant on board (MCP Server) 30K+ · 4.7★ (228) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #9 3 too high 13 
Theme Editor 50K+ · 4.6★ (128)
wp.org #13 14 
Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) not PHP-current
wp.org #12 2 too high 15 
Htaccess File Editor – Safely Edit Htaccess File 40K+ · 5.0★ (102)
wp.org #18 3 too low 16 
HTML Editor Syntax Highlighter 60K+ · 4.4★ (110)
wp.org #16 17 
Checkout Field Editor for WooCommerce – Checkout Manager 20K+ · 4.9★ (165)
wp.org #22 5 too low 18 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #19 1 too low 19 
Activity Log – Monitor User and Agent Changes 200K+ · 4.3★ (74)
wp.org #14 5 too high 20 
Online Active Users 2K+ · 4.7★ (51)
wp.org #20 21 
Login as User: See the Site as Any User 30K+ · 4.8★ (41)
wp.org #23 2 too low 22 
BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #21 1 too high 23 
CP Multi View Events Calendar 900+ · 4.3★ (46) not PHP-current
wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Better Block Editor (BBE) 6K+ · 5.0★ (11) not PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #17 7 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.