wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “feeds”
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 “feeds”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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
Feeds for TikTok (TikTok feed, video, and gallery plugin) shows at wp.org #8 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 70K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 11 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 4132 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.
Product Feed PRO for WooCommerce by AdTribes – Product Feeds for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.7★ (1072)
wp.org #1 2 
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5040)
wp.org #2 ↑1 3 
Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4358)
wp.org #3 ↓1 4 
RSS Aggregator by Feedzy – Feed to Post, Autoblogging, News & YouTube Video Feeds Aggregator 40K+ · 4.6★ (361)
wp.org #4 ↑2 5 
Custom Twitter Feeds – A Tweets Widget or X Feed Widget 100K+ · 4.8★ (401)
wp.org #5 ↑2 6 
Spotlight Social Photo Feed 50K+ · 4.7★ (171)
wp.org #6 ↓2 7 
Feeds for YouTube (YouTube video, channel, and gallery plugin) 100K+ · 4.8★ (205)
wp.org #7 ↑1 8 
Smash Balloon Social Post Feed – Simple Social Feeds for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (1511)
wp.org #11 3 too low 9 
Product Feed Manager for WooCommerce – CTX Feed – Support 220+ Shopping, AI & Social Channels 90K+ · 4.6★ (838)
wp.org #10 ↓5 1 too low 10 
Easy Social Feed – All In One Social Feed Plugin for WordPress 30K+ · 4.6★ (502)
wp.org #13 ↑10 3 too low 11 
Social Feed Gallery 80K+ · 4.5★ (303)
wp.org #12 ↑2 1 too low 12 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132)
wp.org #16 ↑1 4 too low 13 
Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680)
wp.org #18 ↑6 5 too low 14 
Slider, Gallery, and Carousel by MetaSlider – Image Slider, Video Slider 500K+ · 4.6★ (743)
wp.org #17 ↓5 3 too low 15 
WP RSS Aggregator – RSS Import, Feed to Post, Autoblogging, AI Content 40K+ · 4.5★ (565)
wp.org #19 ↓4 4 too low 16 
Feed Them Social – Social Media Feeds, Video, and Photo Galleries 20K+ · 4.7★ (639)
wp.org #21 ↓2 5 too low 17 
WP Social Ninja – Embed Social Feeds, User Reviews & Chat Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (71)
wp.org #14 ↑7 3 too high 18 
Buttonizer – Social Media Share Buttons, Social Icons, & Social Feeds 40K+ · 4.8★ (396)
wp.org #24 6 too low 19 
Widgets for Social Photo Feed 10K+ · 4.7★ (28)
wp.org #15 ↓2 4 too high 20 Feeds for TikTok (TikTok feed, video, and gallery plugin) 70K+ · 4.3★ (11) thin reviews
wp.org #8 ↑1 12 too high 21 
Disable Feeds WP 10K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #9 ↑1 12 too high 22 
WPZOOM Social Feed Widget & Block 50K+ · 4.3★ (51)
wp.org #20 ↓4 2 too high 23 
GN Publisher: Google News Compatible RSS Feeds 20K+ · 4.9★ (29)
wp.org #23 ↓1 24 
Tagembed: Social Media Feeds and Customer Reviews Widget 9K+ · 3.9★ (62)
wp.org #22 ↓2 2 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.