wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “featured groups”
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 groups”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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
AI Featured Image shows at wp.org #3 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 19 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 215 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. 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 
ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities 5K+ · 4.6★ (236)
wp.org #2 3 
Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551)
wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 
Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418)
wp.org #5 1 too low 5 
Variation Swatches for WooCommerce 300K+ · 4.8★ (926)
wp.org #6 ↑6 1 too low 6 
Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423)
wp.org #8 2 too low 7 
Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184)
wp.org #7 ↓1 8 
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132)
wp.org #11 ↓2 3 too low 9 
Export All URLs 50K+ · 4.6★ (94)
wp.org #10 ↑5 1 too low 10 Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails 100K+ · 4.8★ (215)
wp.org #14 4 too low 11 
Meta Box – A Framework for Dynamic Websites 500K+ · 4.8★ (165)
wp.org #13 ↓2 2 too low 12 
VS Event List 8K+ · 4.9★ (82)
wp.org #12 ↓5 13 
Uncanny Toolkit for LearnDash 20K+ · 4.8★ (105)
wp.org #15 ↓2 2 too low 14 
HappyAddons for Elementor – 160 Elementor Widgets, GSAP Animations & Templates 400K+ · 4.8★ (489)
wp.org #19 ↓9 5 too low 15 
Advanced Custom Fields: Extended 100K+ · 4.8★ (132)
wp.org #16 ↑1 1 too low 16 
B2BKing — Ultimate WooCommerce B2B and Wholesale Plugin — Wholesale Prices, Bulk Order Form & More 10K+ · 4.9★ (109)
wp.org #20 ↓2 4 too low 17 
Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807)
wp.org #23 ↓7 6 too low 18 
Dynamic Widgets 10K+ · 4.7★ (109)
wp.org #21 ↓1 3 too low 19 
All-in-One Video Gallery – Video Player & Galleries for YouTube, Vimeo & Self-Hosted Videos 20K+ · 4.8★ (136)
wp.org #24 ↓1 5 too low 20 
Easy Table of Contents 600K+ · 4.4★ (221)
wp.org #22 2 too low 21 
Simple Sitemap – Responsive HTML Sitemap for WordPress 60K+ · 3.9★ (72)
wp.org #17 ↑4 4 too high 22 AI Featured Image 100+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #3 ↑1 19 too high 23 
Royal MCP – Secure AI Connector for Claude, ChatGPT & any LLM via MCP 10K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↑1 5 too high 24 
Smart Auto Featured Image – Featured Image Automation 20+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #9 ↓1 15 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.