wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “first”
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 “first”, 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 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
First payment date for WooCommerce Subscriptions shows at wp.org #5 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 400+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.7★ average from 10 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 27821 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.
WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #1 2 
Matomo Analytics – Powerful, Privacy-First Insights for WordPress 100K+ · 4.6★ (178) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too low 3 
Force First and Last Name as Display Name 2K+ · 4.3★ (18) thin reviews
wp.org #2 1 too high 4 
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint
wp.org #6 2 too low 5 
SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO 300K+ · 4.8★ (1267)
wp.org #8 3 too low 6 
Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1236)
wp.org #11 ↑6 5 too low 7 
WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617)
wp.org #9 ↑1 2 too low 8 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821)
wp.org #16 ↓1 8 too low 9 
Featured Products First for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.0★ (18) thin reviews
wp.org #4 ↓1 5 too high 10 
Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #10 ↓1 11 
Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186)
wp.org #13 ↑5 2 too low 12 
TranslatePress – Translate Multilingual sites with AI Translation 400K+ · 4.7★ (1667)
wp.org #19 ↓3 7 too low 13 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #12 1 too high 14 
Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (587)
wp.org #17 ↑1 3 too low 15 
My Calendar – Accessible Event Manager 20K+ · 4.7★ (159)
wp.org #14 ↓3 1 too high 16 
MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435) heavy footprint
wp.org #15 ↓2 1 too high 17 
First Order Discount Woocommerce 1K+ · 4.8★ (18) thin reviews
wp.org #7 10 too high 18 First payment date for WooCommerce Subscriptions 400+ · 4.7★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #5 13 too high 19 
Download Monitor 80K+ · 4.5★ (525)
wp.org #23 ↑1 4 too low 20 
Two Factor 100K+ · 4.7★ (209)
wp.org #22 ↑1 2 too low 21 
SVG Support 1M+ · 4.8★ (356)
wp.org #18 ↓5 3 too high 22 
bbPress 100K+ · 3.9★ (343)
wp.org #20 2 too high 23 
Table of Contents Plus – Automatic Table of Contents for Posts & Pages 200K+ · 4.5★ (187)
wp.org #24 1 too low 24 
FPAI – First-Party AI Analytics 10+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #21 3 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.