wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “featured comments”
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 “featured comments”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 4 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
WP Featured Posts shows at wp.org #8 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Website Builder by SeedProd — Theme Builder, Landing Page Builder, Coming Soon Page, Maintenance Mode places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 4699 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Quick Featured Images 50K+ · 4.7★ (235)
wp.org #1 2 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #2 3 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #5 2 too low 4 
Admin Columns 100K+ · 4.9★ (1652)
wp.org #10 6 too low 5 
Automatic Featured Images from Videos 6K+ · 4.6★ (36)
wp.org #4 1 too high 6 
Social comments by WpDevArt 7K+ · 4.3★ (42)
wp.org #6 7 
The SEO Framework – Fast, Automated, Effortless. 200K+ · 4.9★ (380) not PHP-current
wp.org #11 ↑1 4 too low 8 
GenerateBlocks 200K+ · 4.9★ (122)
wp.org #12 ↓1 4 too low 9 
Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423)
wp.org #18 ↓3 9 too low 10 
Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails 100K+ · 4.8★ (215)
wp.org #16 ↑1 6 too low 11 
Meta Box – A Framework for Dynamic Websites 500K+ · 4.8★ (165)
wp.org #14 3 too low 12 Website Builder by SeedProd — Theme Builder, Landing Page Builder, Coming Soon Page, Maintenance Mode 600K+ · 4.9★ (4699)
wp.org #24 12 too low 13 S Subscribe to Comments 10K+ · 3.9★ (14) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #3 10 too high 14 
GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155)
wp.org #13 1 too high 15 
FakerPress 10K+ · 4.9★ (205)
wp.org #21 ↑1 6 too low 16 
WP Popular Posts 100K+ · 4.5★ (249)
wp.org #20 ↓4 4 too low 17 
Postie 10K+ · 4.7★ (139) not PHP-current
wp.org #15 ↑4 2 too high 18 
Featured Products First for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.0★ (18) thin reviews
wp.org #7 11 too high 19 
Post Duplicator 200K+ · 4.8★ (80)
wp.org #17 ↑1 2 too high 20 
Ultimate Post Kit – Elementor Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider & Blog Layout Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (58)
wp.org #22 ↑1 2 too low 21 
Enable Abilities for MCP 5K+ · 5.0★ (17) thin reviews
wp.org #23 ↓2 2 too low 22 
Featured Image Pro Post Grid 900+ · 5.0★ (3) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #9 13 too high 23 
Hyvor Talk – Comments, Newsletters, Memberships 90+ · 5.0★ (5) not PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #19 ↑1 4 too high 24 WP Featured Posts 300+ · 4.3★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #8 16 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.