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

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 “extras”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Futurio Extra shows at wp.org #4 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 18 places. Its 10K+ 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

Autoptimize places #7 on merit, 4.7★ from 1428 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 signals wp.org

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #1 ↑1 2

Ocean Extra 400K+ · 3.3★ (67) low rating, top placement wp.org #2 ↓1 3

TranslatePress – Translate Multilingual sites with AI Translation 400K+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #7 4 too low 4

Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN 1M+ · 4.8★ (6053) wp.org #8 ↑1 4 too low 5

Polylang 900K+ · 4.7★ (3004) wp.org #9 ↓1 4 too low 6

Extra Product Options For WooCommerce | Custom Product Addons and Fields 30K+ · 4.9★ (219) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #11 5 too low 7

Autoptimize 800K+ · 4.7★ (1428) wp.org #19 12 too low 8

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #15 ↑2 7 too low 9

WP EXtra – One Click Optimize 6K+ · 4.9★ (41) wp.org #12 3 too low 10

All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #22 ↑2 12 too low 11

Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) not PHP-current wp.org #14 ↑1 3 too low 12

Smart Slider 3 800K+ · 4.9★ (1125) wp.org #24 ↓1 12 too low 13

PI Conditional cart fee / Extra charge rule for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.9★ (38) wp.org #13 14

Supreme Modules Lite – Divi Theme, Extra Theme and Divi Builder 200K+ · 4.8★ (109) wp.org #21 7 too low 15

Extra Fees for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.3★ (42) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #10 5 too high 16

LandTech Extras for Elementor 80+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #3 13 too high 17

YayExtra – WooCommerce Extra Product Options 1K+ · 4.8★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #18 1 too low 18

Extra Product Sorting Options for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.6★ (31) wp.org #20 2 too low 19

Profile Extra Fields by BestWebSoft 1K+ · 4.6★ (15) thin reviews wp.org #17 ↓1 2 too high 20 A Arile Extra 10K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #5 15 too high 21

Surbma | Divi Extras 1K+ · 4.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #6 15 too high 22

Futurio Extra 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #4 18 too high 23

Shortcodes and extra features for Phlox theme 80K+ · 2.1★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #23 ↓1 1 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.