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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “empty trash”

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 “empty trash”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

Unattached Media Manager shows at wp.org #8 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Duplicate Post places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 1623 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Event Booking Manager for WooCommerce – Sell Tickets, Event Registration, RSVP & Event Calendar 7K+ · 4.5★ (167) wp.org #1 2 Media Cleaner: Delete Unused Images & Clean Your Media Library 90K+ · 4.6★ (779) wp.org #7 ↓3 5 too low 3 Delete product images for WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #12 ↑1 8 too low 5 Delete Duplicate Posts 10K+ · 4.8★ (153) wp.org #10 5 too low 6 Disable Everything 30K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #3 3 too high 7 WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (199) wp.org #13 ↓1 6 too low 8 Proxy Cache Purge 50K+ · 4.4★ (26) wp.org #6 ↑1 2 too high 9 Duplicate Post 300K+ · 4.9★ (1623) wp.org #20 ↓2 11 too low 10 Autoremove Attachments 3K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #9 1 too high 11 Gravity Forms CLI Add-On 20K+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #5 ↑1 6 too high 12 WPS Bidouille 9K+ · 4.9★ (54) wp.org #15 3 too low 13 Image Source Control Lite – Show Image Credits and Captions 3K+ · 4.6★ (42) wp.org #16 3 too low 14 404 Solution 10K+ · 4.9★ (44) wp.org #22 ↓3 8 too low 15 OpenStation – Admin Dashboard Notes, Custom Dashboard, AI Assistant & PWA 1K+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #23 ↑1 8 too low 16 T TGG – WP Optimizer 700+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #4 ↑1 12 too high 17 SpeedyCache – Cache, Optimization, Performance 500K+ · 4.4★ (30) wp.org #18 ↑3 1 too low 18 VidShop – Shoppable Videos for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #14 4 too high 19 Royal MCP – Secure AI Connector for Claude, ChatGPT & any LLM via MCP 10K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #19 ↑1 20 MJDD Sidrena Cijena 700+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #21 ↑1 1 too low 21 Media Sweep – WordPress Media Cleaner 1K+ · 3.8★ (11) wp.org #17 4 too high 22 Unattached Media Manager 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 14 too high 23 SEO'n'AI – Image Locator & Find Unused Images 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 12 too high 24 Resetify – Advanced Reset & Database Cleaner 100+ · 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.