wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “fast shift”
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 “fast shift”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 5 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
EasyFonts – Host Google Fonts Locally, Fast & Auto-Optimize, GDPR Compliant shows at wp.org #8 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery places #12 on merit, 4.7★ from 616 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.
Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN 1M+ · 4.8★ (6053)
wp.org #2 ↓1 1 too low 2 
HTML5 Video Player – embed fast, responsive videos with ease 20K+ · 4.6★ (195)
wp.org #3 1 too low 3 
Fast Cart – Ultralight Ajax Side Cart for WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #1 ↑1 2 too high 4 
Optimole – Optimize Images | Convert WebP & AVIF | CDN & Lazy Load | Image Optimization 200K+ · 4.7★ (640)
wp.org #6 ↑1 2 too low 5 
FluentCommunity – Ultra-Fast High-Performance Social Network, Community, LMS & Online Courses 8K+ · 4.8★ (96)
wp.org #4 1 too high 6 
FooGallery Photo Gallery : Image, Video & Masonry Galleries 100K+ · 4.8★ (995)
wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too low 7 
Hubbub Lite – Fast, free social sharing and follow buttons 30K+ · 4.7★ (173)
wp.org #5 2 too high 8 
Stackable – Page Builder Gutenberg Blocks 100K+ · 4.9★ (522)
wp.org #10 2 too low 9 
Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333)
wp.org #9 10 
Under Construction 600K+ · 4.8★ (1285)
wp.org #12 2 too low 11 
Gutenberg Essential Blocks – Page Builder for Gutenberg Blocks & Patterns 100K+ · 4.9★ (216)
wp.org #13 ↑3 2 too low 12 Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616)
wp.org #17 ↑2 5 too low 13 
Envira Gallery – Image Photo Gallery, Albums, Video Gallery, Slideshows & More 100K+ · 4.7★ (1597)
wp.org #21 ↓7 8 too low 14 
Database Cleaner: Cleanup, Optimization & Repair 10K+ · 5.0★ (150)
wp.org #16 ↓3 2 too low 15 
Easy WP SMTP – WordPress SMTP and Email Logs: Gmail SMTP, Office 365, Outlook, Custom SMTP, and more 500K+ · 4.6★ (709)
wp.org #24 9 too low 16 
Safelayout Cute Preloader – CSS3 WordPress Preloader 10K+ · 5.0★ (84)
wp.org #22 6 too low 17 
BerqWP – All-In-One Optimization for Core Web Vitals, Cache, CDN, Images, CSS & JavaScript 4K+ · 4.3★ (54)
wp.org #15 ↑2 2 too high 18 
Payment Gateway for PayPal on WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.4★ (73)
wp.org #19 1 too low 19 EasyFonts – Host Google Fonts Locally, Fast & Auto-Optimize, GDPR Compliant 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #8 11 too high 20 
Kirki – Freeform Page Builder, Website Builder & Customizer 400K+ · 4.5★ (81)
wp.org #23 ↓3 3 too low 21 
LWS Optimize – All-in-One Speed Booster & Cache Tools 20K+ · 4.6★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #11 10 too high 22 
Advanced Accordion Gutenberg Block – Create Beautiful FAQs, Content Accordions & Interactive Tabs 9K+ · 4.1★ (34)
wp.org #20 ↑1 2 too high 23 
Disable Right Click RB – Content Copy Protection, Prevent Copy & No Right Click 600+ · 4.2★ (14) thin reviews
wp.org #14 9 too high 24 
Sticky Elementor – Sticky Header, Menu Color After Sticky, Logo Swap & Back to Top Button 600+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #18 6 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.