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← Rankings

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

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 “favorite”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

BuddyPress Favorite Notification shows at wp.org #7 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 80+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Translate WordPress with Weglot 2.0 – Multilingual AI Translation places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 1940 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Favorites 10K+ · 4.6★ (133) wp.org #1 2 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder 600K+ · 4.9★ (4514) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #6 ↑2 2 too low 5 Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty 300K+ · 5.0★ (1244) wp.org #10 ↑4 5 too low 6 Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397) wp.org #11 ↑4 5 too low 7 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #9 ↑2 2 too low 8 CBX Bookmark & Favorite 1K+ · 4.6★ (49) wp.org #4 4 too high 9 Under Construction 600K+ · 4.8★ (1285) wp.org #13 ↓4 4 too low 10 HivePress Favorites 7K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #2 8 too high 11 Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616) wp.org #15 ↑5 4 too low 12 Translate WordPress with Weglot 2.0 – Multilingual AI Translation 50K+ · 4.8★ (1940) wp.org #23 ↑1 11 too low 13 TI WooCommerce Wishlist 100K+ · 4.7★ (503) wp.org #12 ↑5 1 too high 14 Affiliate Program Suite — SliceWP Affiliates 10K+ · 4.9★ (111) wp.org #16 ↑2 2 too low 15 Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups 80K+ · 4.4★ (859) wp.org #21 6 too low 16 UsersWP – Front-end login form, User Registration, User Profile & Members Directory plugin for WP 20K+ · 4.7★ (183) wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too low 17 My Favorites 1K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #8 ↓1 9 too high 18 Theme My Login 50K+ · 3.7★ (460) wp.org #20 ↑2 2 too low 19 YMC Filter 4K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #14 ↓2 5 too high 20 Variation Swatches for WooCommerce – Color, Image & Size Swatches 200K+ · 4.6★ (51) wp.org #18 ↓5 2 too high 21 P Posts 2 Posts 9K+ · 4.8★ (101) wp.org #24 ↓1 3 too low 22 BuddyPress Favorite Notification 80+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #7 ↓1 15 too high 23 WDesignKit – AI Templates, Widget Builder & MCP Workflow 30K+ · 4.8★ (12) wp.org #19 4 too high 24 Solid Post Likes 500+ · 4.8★ (9) 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.