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

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 “equivalent”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

WooCommerce Legacy REST API shows at wp.org #5 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 18 places. Its 400K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 1.5★ average from 29 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Headers Security Advanced & HSTS WP places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 80 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 signals wp.org

Converter for Media – Optimize images | Convert WebP & AVIF 500K+ · 4.9★ (1106) wp.org #1 2

IP Location Block 10K+ · 4.5★ (35) wp.org #2 3

Cyrlitera – Transliteration of Links and File Names 40K+ · 4.6★ (62) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4

WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346) wp.org #8 4 too low 5

Broadcast 1K+ · 4.9★ (214) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #6 ↓2 1 too low 6 C Contact Form 7: Accessible Defaults 5K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #3 ↑12 3 too high 7

Cyr to Lat Reloaded – Transliteration of Links and File Names 30K+ · 4.5★ (15) thin reviews wp.org #7 ↓2 1 too high 9

Clean Image Filenames 30K+ · 4.6★ (21) thin reviews wp.org #9 ↓3 10

Headers Security Advanced & HSTS WP 90K+ · 4.8★ (80) wp.org #21 ↓7 11 too low 11

ContentBot AI Writer (AI Content) 400+ · 4.7★ (19) thin reviews wp.org #14 ↓3 3 too low 12

EU VAT Assistant for WooCommerce 5K+ · 5.0★ (37) wp.org #22 ↓1 10 too low 13

Enable Abilities for MCP 5K+ · 5.0★ (17) thin reviews wp.org #17 4 too low 14

Ads.txt & App-ads.txt Manager for WordPress 2K+ · 4.8★ (48) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #18 ↓2 4 too low 15

WP-Stateless – Google Cloud Storage 4K+ · 3.9★ (51) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #15 ↓5 16

PDF Forms Filler for CF7 3K+ · 4.8★ (13) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #11 ↓2 5 too high 17

Exchange Rates 800+ · 4.2★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #12 5 too high 18

Proxy Cache Purge 50K+ · 4.4★ (26) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #20 ↓1 2 too low 19

TrustMate.io – WooCommerce integration 3K+ · 4.0★ (10) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #10 ↓3 9 too high 20

Forward: Embed Image Links 100+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #24 ↓1 4 too low 21

Cyrillic Permalinks 200+ · 3.7★ (3) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #13 8 too high 22

PDF Forms Filler for WPForms 600+ · 2.6★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #19 ↓1 3 too high 23

WooCommerce Legacy REST API 400K+ · 1.5★ (29) host-installed base low rating, top placement wp.org #5 ↑17 18 too high 24

WP Guardian – Security Hardening Checklist & Lightweight Firewall 100+ · 5.0★ (1) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #23 1 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.