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← Rankings

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

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 “feature”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

Shortcodes and extra features for Phlox theme shows at wp.org #5 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 80K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.1★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy places #12 on merit, 5.0★ from 4625 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #1 2 Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #2 3 SVG Support 1M+ · 4.8★ (356) wp.org #6 ↑7 3 too low 4 Yoast Duplicate Post 3M+ · 4.7★ (538) wp.org #4 5 The SEO Framework – Fast, Automated, Effortless. 200K+ · 4.9★ (380) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Paid Membership Subscriptions – Effortless Memberships, Recurring Payments & Content Restriction 10K+ · 4.7★ (270) wp.org #9 ↑2 3 too low 7 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #11 ↓2 4 too low 8 Extended Coupon Features for WooCommerce FREE 10K+ · 5.0★ (69) wp.org #8 ↓1 9 Robo Gallery – Photo & Image Slider 40K+ · 4.3★ (406) wp.org #12 3 too low 10 Turn Off AI Features 400+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #3 7 too high 11 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #19 ↓5 8 too low 12 TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625) wp.org #21 9 too low 13 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #13 ↑3 14 CMP – Coming Soon & Maintenance Plugin by NiteoThemes 200K+ · 4.7★ (326) wp.org #17 3 too low 15 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #22 ↓1 7 too low 16 Postie 10K+ · 4.7★ (139) wp.org #16 ↑2 17 GA Google Analytics – Connect Google Analytics to WordPress 400K+ · 4.9★ (158) wp.org #23 ↑1 6 too low 18 Simple Feature Requests Free – User Feedback Board 100+ · 4.0★ (10) wp.org #10 8 too high 19 Changeloger – Changelog, Release Notes, Roadmap & Feature Requests 200+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #14 ↑1 5 too high 20 Shortcodes and extra features for Phlox theme 80K+ · 2.1★ (7) wp.org #5 15 too high 21 Premium Portfolio Features for Phlox theme 30K+ · 4.3★ (7) wp.org #15 ↓3 6 too high 22 Multicollab: Content Team Collaboration and Editorial Workflow 300+ · 3.7★ (10) wp.org #20 2 too high 23 Setup Default Featured Image 400+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓1 5 too high 24 WP Featured Posts 300+ · 4.3★ (3) wp.org #24 ↓1

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.