wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “everything”
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 “everything”, 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
Search & Replace Everything by WPCode – Find and Replace Media, Text, Links, and More shows at wp.org #8 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 20K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.9★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 6053 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Filter Everything — WordPress & WooCommerce Filters 50K+ · 4.6★ (154)
wp.org #1 2 
WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833)
wp.org #2 3 
Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012)
wp.org #3 4 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #7 3 too low 5 
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27820)
wp.org #10 ↓1 5 too low 6 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #9 3 too low 7 
Meow Mailer – Free SMTP, Everything Included 900+ · 5.0★ (26)
wp.org #6 1 too high 8 
The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461)
wp.org #13 ↓1 5 too low 9 
BA Book Everything 10K+ · 4.2★ (20) thin reviews
wp.org #5 4 too high 10 Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN 1M+ · 4.8★ (6053)
wp.org #17 ↓2 7 too low 11 
WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209)
wp.org #18 ↓2 7 too low 12 
Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186)
wp.org #15 ↑2 3 too low 13 
BuddyPress 90K+ · 4.1★ (375)
wp.org #14 ↓1 1 too low 14 
Disable Everything 30K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #4 10 too high 15 
WPvivid — Backup, Migration & Staging 900K+ · 4.9★ (1568)
wp.org #23 ↓3 8 too low 16 
WP Umbrella: Security Backup Restore & Monitoring 90K+ · 4.8★ (81)
wp.org #16 ↓2 17 
Search & Replace Everything – Quick and Easy Way to Find and Replace Text, Links 20K+ · 4.7★ (26)
wp.org #11 ↓1 6 too high 18 
Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667)
wp.org #24 6 too low 19 
WP 2FA – Two-factor authentication for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (184)
wp.org #21 ↑1 2 too low 20 
WP Webhooks – Automate repetitive tasks by creating powerful automation workflows directly within WordPress 20K+ · 4.7★ (55)
wp.org #22 ↓1 2 too low 21 
Slide everything for Elementor 6K+ · 4.5★ (12) thin reviews
wp.org #12 ↓1 9 too high 22 
LWS Cleaner 20K+ · 4.8★ (16) thin reviews
wp.org #19 ↓1 3 too high 23 Search & Replace Everything by WPCode – Find and Replace Media, Text, Links, and More 20K+ · 3.9★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #8 15 too high 24 
EchBay Search Everything 200+ · 2.5★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #20 ↓1 4 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.