wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “featured post”
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 post”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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
WP Featured Posts shows at wp.org #10 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 14 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
The Post Grid – Shortcode, Gutenberg Blocks and Elementor Addon for Post Grid places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 265 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.
Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276)
wp.org #2 ↑2 3 
Featured Image from URL (FIFU) 60K+ · 4.6★ (264)
wp.org #3 ↓2 4 
Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (587)
wp.org #5 ↓2 1 too low 5 
Quick Featured Images 50K+ · 4.7★ (235)
wp.org #7 ↑1 2 too low 6 
Default Featured Image 50K+ · 4.8★ (69)
wp.org #6 ↑1 7 
Auto Featured Image (Auto Post Thumbnail) 40K+ · 3.8★ (119) not PHP-current
wp.org #4 ↑1 3 too high 8 
Ultimate Post Kit – Elementor Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider & Blog Layout Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (58)
wp.org #8 ↑1 9 
Post Duplicator 200K+ · 4.8★ (80)
wp.org #9 ↓3 10 The Post Grid – Shortcode, Gutenberg Blocks and Elementor Addon for Post Grid 100K+ · 4.8★ (265)
wp.org #14 4 too low 11 
Smart Post – Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider Gutenberg Blocks for Blog & News 20K+ · 4.7★ (210) heavy footprint
wp.org #12 ↑1 1 too low 12 F Featured Image Admin Thumb 20K+ · 4.7★ (40)
wp.org #11 1 too high 13 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #20 7 too low 14 
Rate My Post – Star Rating Plugin by FeedbackWP 20K+ · 4.7★ (159) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #15 1 too low 15 
Conditionally display featured image on singular posts and pages 30K+ · 4.8★ (38)
wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too low 16 
Featured Images in RSS for Mailchimp & More 20K+ · 4.3★ (113)
wp.org #19 ↓1 3 too low 17 
Post Slider and Post Carousel with Post Vertical Scrolling Widget – A Responsive Post Slider 10K+ · 4.7★ (31)
wp.org #18 ↓2 1 too low 18 
Really Simple Featured Video for Posts, Pages & WooCommerce Products 4K+ · 4.0★ (34)
wp.org #13 ↓1 5 too high 19 
Add Featured Image Column 3K+ · 4.9★ (13) thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too low 20 
Featured Image Column 2K+ · 4.5★ (12) thin reviews
wp.org #24 4 too low 21 
Featured Image with URL 2K+ · 4.9★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #23 2 too low 22 
Duplicate Post – duplicate pages, copy content, clone posts 5K+ · 4.7★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #17 5 too high 23 
LAPDI Featured Posts 70+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too high 24 WP Featured Posts 300+ · 4.3★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #10 14 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.