wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “favorite posts”
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 posts”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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
BuddyPress Favorite Notification shows at wp.org #10 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 12 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
Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty places #8 on merit, 5.0★ from 1244 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Duplicate Post 300K+ · 4.9★ (1623)
wp.org #1 2 P Posts 2 Posts 9K+ · 4.8★ (101)
wp.org #2 3 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #4 1 too low 4 
Favorites 10K+ · 4.6★ (133)
wp.org #3 1 too high 5 
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821)
wp.org #6 ↑5 1 too low 6 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322)
wp.org #5 ↑2 1 too high 7 
Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder 600K+ · 4.9★ (4514)
wp.org #11 ↑1 4 too low 8 Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty 300K+ · 5.0★ (1244)
wp.org #16 ↑7 8 too low 9 
Post Duplicator 200K+ · 4.8★ (80)
wp.org #9 ↓3 10 
Slider, Gallery, and Carousel by MetaSlider – Image Slider, Video Slider 500K+ · 4.6★ (743)
wp.org #15 ↑2 5 too low 11 
CBX Bookmark & Favorite 1K+ · 4.6★ (49)
wp.org #8 3 too high 12 
My Favorites 1K+ · 5.0★ (15) thin reviews
wp.org #7 ↓2 5 too high 13 
WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (199)
wp.org #18 ↑4 5 too low 14 
Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397)
wp.org #19 ↑2 5 too low 15 
Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616)
wp.org #23 8 too low 16 
RSS Aggregator by Feedzy – Feed to Post, Autoblogging, News & YouTube Video Feeds Aggregator 40K+ · 4.6★ (361)
wp.org #21 ↑3 5 too low 17 
Wicked Folders – Folder Organizer for Pages, Posts, and Custom Post Types 20K+ · 4.9★ (56)
wp.org #14 ↑2 3 too high 18 
UsersWP – Front-end login form, User Registration, User Profile & Members Directory plugin for WP 20K+ · 4.7★ (183)
wp.org #24 6 too low 19 
Solid Post Likes 500+ · 4.8★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #12 ↑6 7 too high 20 
Advanced Post Block – Display Your Posts Exactly How You Want 10K+ · 4.2★ (17) thin reviews
wp.org #13 ↑2 7 too high 21 
YMC Filter 4K+ · 4.8★ (34)
wp.org #22 ↓8 1 too low 22 BuddyPress Favorite Notification 80+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #10 12 too high 23 
Admin Bookmarks 500+ · 5.0★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too high 24 
Post Engagement – Like Dislike, Share, Views, Star Rating, Favorites & Copy Posts 30+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #17 ↑3 7 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.