wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “everyone”
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 “everyone”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 of the top 20. 4 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
EmailKit – Email Customizer for WooCommerce & WP shows at wp.org #15 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 70K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.7★ average from 15 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
User Menus – Nav Menu Visibility places #11 on merit, 5.0★ from 1281 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821)
wp.org #4 3 too low 2 
Simple Social Media Share Buttons – Social Sharing for Everyone 20K+ · 4.8★ (194) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #2 3 
Object Cache 4 everyone 5K+ · 4.2★ (30) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #1 2 too high 4 
Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) not PHP-current
wp.org #3 1 too high 5 
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281)
wp.org #6 1 too low 6 
BuddyPress 90K+ · 4.1★ (375)
wp.org #5 1 too high 7 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #8 1 too low 8 
Advanced Product Fields (Product Addons) for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.8★ (284)
wp.org #7 1 too high 9 
XML Sitemap Generator for Google 1M+ · 4.8★ (2233)
wp.org #11 2 too low 10 
WP Recipe Maker 50K+ · 5.0★ (356) heavy footprint
wp.org #10 11 User Menus – Nav Menu Visibility 80K+ · 5.0★ (1281)
wp.org #16 5 too low 12 
Nav Menu Roles 70K+ · 4.9★ (219)
wp.org #13 1 too low 13 
Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery 300K+ · 4.3★ (4342) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #12 1 too high 14 
GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155)
wp.org #9 5 too high 15 
Simply Schedule Appointments 50K+ · 5.0★ (155)
wp.org #14 1 too high 16 
EWWW Image Optimizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1842)
wp.org #22 6 too low 17 
Admin Menu Editor 300K+ · 4.6★ (312)
wp.org #21 4 too low 18 
Database Cleaner: Cleanup, Optimization & Repair 10K+ · 5.0★ (150)
wp.org #23 5 too low 19 
Slim SEO – AI SEO Plugin, Lightweight, Fast & Automated 70K+ · 4.7★ (136)
wp.org #20 1 too low 20 
MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #18 2 too high 21 
Classic Editor + 30K+ · 4.9★ (31)
wp.org #17 4 too high 22 
HTML Forms – Simple WordPress Forms Plugin 10K+ · 4.9★ (57)
wp.org #24 2 too low 23 EmailKit – Email Customizer for WooCommerce & WP 70K+ · 4.7★ (15) thin reviews
wp.org #15 8 too high 24 
Everyone Accessibility Suite – Free WCAG Accessibility Widget & Toolkit 80+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #19 5 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.