wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “exclude”
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 “exclude”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 2 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
Exclude Attachment Link Suggestions shows at wp.org #9 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 80+ 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
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI places #6 on merit, 4.8★ from 27821 reviews, but shows at wp.org #12. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Search Exclude 50K+ · 4.8★ (218)
wp.org #1 2 
LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778)
wp.org #5 ↓3 3 too low 3 
WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617)
wp.org #6 ↓2 3 too low 4 
Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641)
wp.org #4 ↓1 5 
Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517)
wp.org #8 ↓1 3 too low 6 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821)
wp.org #12 ↑3 6 too low 7 
All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676)
wp.org #10 ↓1 3 too low 8 
TranslatePress – Translate Multilingual sites with AI Translation 400K+ · 4.7★ (1667)
wp.org #13 ↓4 5 too low 9 
Ultimate Category Excluder 50K+ · 4.3★ (78)
wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too high 10 
Product Feed PRO for WooCommerce by AdTribes – Product Feeds for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.7★ (1071)
wp.org #16 6 too low 11 
Maintenance 1M+ · 4.4★ (869)
wp.org #11 ↑1 12 
Exclude Category from Blog 1K+ · 4.0★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #2 10 too high 13 
Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1237)
wp.org #20 7 too low 14 
PW WooCommerce Exclude Free Shipping 1K+ · 4.7★ (11) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #3 ↑2 11 too high 15 
Table of Contents Plus – Automatic Table of Contents for Posts & Pages 200K+ · 4.5★ (187)
wp.org #14 1 too high 16 
Ivory Search – WordPress Search Plugin 90K+ · 4.9★ (1562) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #17 ↓6 1 too low 17 
Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423)
wp.org #23 6 too low 18 
LightStart – Maintenance Mode, Coming Soon and Landing Page Builder 400K+ · 4.3★ (874)
wp.org #22 4 too low 19 
Product Feed Manager for WooCommerce – CTX Feed – Support 220+ Shopping, AI & Social Channels 90K+ · 4.6★ (838) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #19 ↓2 20 P Page-list 30K+ · 4.7★ (89)
wp.org #21 ↓2 1 too low 21 
Antispam Bee 700K+ · 4.8★ (226)
wp.org #24 ↓1 3 too low 22 
SpeedyCache – Cache, Optimization, Performance 500K+ · 4.4★ (30) host-installed base
wp.org #18 4 too high 23 Exclude Attachment Link Suggestions 80+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #9 ↓1 14 too high 24 
Exclude Search 80+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #15 ↓1 9 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.