Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “explicit”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 3 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

WP Consent API shows at wp.org #7 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 200K+ 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

LocoAI – Auto Translate for Loco Translate places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 642 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN 1M+ · 4.8★ (6053) wp.org #1 2 Cyr-To-Lat 300K+ · 4.7★ (98) wp.org #2 3 Media Cleaner: Delete Unused Images & Clean Your Media Library 90K+ · 4.6★ (779) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too low 4 GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too high 5 Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #5 ↑1 6 CookieYes – Cookie Banner for Cookie Consent (Easy to setup GDPR/CCPA Compliant Cookie Notice) 1M+ · 4.8★ (3236) wp.org #10 ↓2 4 too low 7 Stop User Enumeration 60K+ · 4.9★ (132) wp.org #9 ↑5 2 too low 8 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588) wp.org #13 ↓4 5 too low 9 Timeline Widget For Elementor (Elementor Timeline, Vertical & Horizontal Timeline) 70K+ · 4.8★ (248) wp.org #15 ↑1 6 too low 10 LocoAI – Auto Translate for Loco Translate 70K+ · 4.9★ (642) wp.org #19 ↓5 9 too low 11 Debug Log Manager Tool 3K+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #6 5 too high 12 WP Swiper 5K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #11 1 too high 13 Better Font Awesome 60K+ · 4.5★ (88) wp.org #14 ↑1 1 too low 14 Real Custom Post Order: Create a custom order for your content 8K+ · 4.8★ (42) wp.org #12 ↑2 2 too high 15 Login IP & Country Restriction 8K+ · 4.6★ (52) wp.org #16 ↑3 1 too low 16 Additional Terms Lite for WooCommerce 2K+ · 3.6★ (16) wp.org #8 8 too high 17 Input Mask For Elementor Form Fields 10K+ · 4.5★ (24) wp.org #20 ↑3 3 too low 18 tarteaucitron.io – Cookie Banner & GDPR Consent Management 10K+ · 4.5★ (13) wp.org #24 6 too low 19 WP SAML Auth 7K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #17 ↑2 2 too high 20 Timeline Block For Gutenberg 9K+ · 4.4★ (11) wp.org #18 ↑3 2 too high 21 Button Block – Stylish buttons that get more clicks 5K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #23 2 too low 22 WP Consent API 200K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 ↓1 15 too high 23 BeyondSEO – AI SEO to Improve Rankings, Listings & Online Visibility 20K+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 Inspiro Starter Sites – 20+ Free Demo Templates for Gutenberg & Elementor 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 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.