wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “fire register”
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 “fire register”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.
Ranked above its merit
WP Consent API shows at wp.org #7 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 200K+ 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
Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder places #9 on merit, 4.4★ from 1397 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Nextend Social Login and Register 200K+ · 4.9★ (446)
wp.org #1 2 
LoginWP (Formerly Peter's Login Redirect) 80K+ · 4.8★ (503)
wp.org #2 3 
Widget Options – Advanced Conditional Visibility for Gutenberg Blocks & Classic Widgets 100K+ · 4.9★ (1516)
wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too low 4 
GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155)
wp.org #3 1 too high 5 
bbPress 100K+ · 3.9★ (343)
wp.org #6 1 too low 6 
Discussion Board – WordPress Forum Plugin 1K+ · 4.6★ (43)
wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too high 7 
Appointment Booking Plugin – LatePoint | Calendar & Scheduling for WordPress 100K+ · 4.9★ (107)
wp.org #9 ↑2 2 too low 8 
WP Webhooks – Automate repetitive tasks by creating powerful automation workflows directly within WordPress 20K+ · 4.7★ (55)
wp.org #8 ↑1 9 Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397)
wp.org #15 6 too low 10 
WP-Sweep 100K+ · 4.7★ (138)
wp.org #13 3 too low 11 
Theme My Login 50K+ · 3.7★ (460)
wp.org #14 ↓2 3 too low 12 
Affiliate Program Suite — SliceWP Affiliates 10K+ · 4.9★ (111)
wp.org #17 5 too low 13 
WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (199)
wp.org #22 ↓1 9 too low 14 
New User Approve 20K+ · 4.3★ (131)
wp.org #16 ↓1 2 too low 15 
Bricks Navigator 8K+ · 5.0★ (19) thin reviews
wp.org #10 5 too high 16 
Advanced Form Integration — Connect Forms to 300+ Apps 9K+ · 4.8★ (91)
wp.org #21 ↓2 5 too low 17 
FluentAuth – Login Security, Two-Factor Authentication, Passkeys & Social Login 10K+ · 4.1★ (35)
wp.org #11 ↑3 6 too high 18 
AMP WP – Google AMP For WordPress 600+ · 4.5★ (55)
wp.org #18 ↓2 19 
Sidebar Login 9K+ · 4.5★ (78)
wp.org #23 ↓1 4 too low 20 
WCPOS – Point of Sale (POS) plugin for WooCommerce 5K+ · 3.7★ (84)
wp.org #20 ↓2 21 
TrueAna – True Analytics Dashboard 1K+ · 5.0★ (30)
wp.org #24 ↓1 3 too low 22 
ActiveLayer Anti-Spam: Spam Protection for Forms & Comments 10K+ · 4.9★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #19 ↑1 3 too high 23 
Ele Conditions for Elementor 2K+ · 4.2★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #12 ↓4 11 too high 24 WP Consent API 200K+ · 5.0★ (2) host-installed base thin reviews
wp.org #7 17 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.