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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “execution time”

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

Calculate Page Execution Time shows at wp.org #3 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 10+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 8709 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 EasyMedia – Increase Media Upload File Size | Role-Based Upload Limit | Increase Execution Time 70K+ · 4.9★ (99) wp.org #1 2 Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #2 3 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #4 ↑2 1 too low 4 BlogVault Backup & Staging 80K+ · 4.6★ (332) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #7 ↑2 2 too low 6 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874) wp.org #11 4 too low 8 Hummingbird Performance – Cache & Page Speed Optimization for Core Web Vitals | Critical CSS | Minify CSS | Defer CSS Javascript | CDN 70K+ · 4.7★ (1488) wp.org #15 ↑1 7 too low 9 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8709) wp.org #20 11 too low 10 10Web Booster – Website speed optimization, Cache & Page Speed optimizer 60K+ · 4.6★ (405) wp.org #17 ↑1 7 too low 11 Advanced Cron Manager – debug & control 30K+ · 4.7★ (39) wp.org #10 1 too high 12 Two Factor 100K+ · 4.7★ (209) wp.org #23 11 too low 13 Flying Scripts: Delay JavaScript to Improve Site Speed & Performance 30K+ · 5.0★ (38) wp.org #16 ↓2 3 too low 14 WP-Memory-Usage 10K+ · 4.5★ (21) wp.org #21 ↑3 7 too low 15 Black Bar 500+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #19 ↓2 4 too low 16 MyServerInfo – Memory Usage, PHP Version, Memory Limit, Execution Time, CPU Usage, Disk Usage 800+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 ↓2 10 too high 17 LWS Tools 10K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #18 ↑1 1 too low 18 Calculate Page Execution Time 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 15 too high 19 Easy Actions Scheduler Cleaner 900+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #24 5 too low 20 Interlinks Manager – Internal Links Optimizer 7K+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #14 ↑1 6 too high 21 MaxLimits – Increase Maximum Upload, Post & PHP Limits 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #9 ↓2 12 too high 22 Max Upload File Size Manager 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #12 10 too high 23 atec Profiler 90+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 10 too high 24 Hungry Resource Monitor 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 ↓1 2 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.