wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “flatten”
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 “flatten”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 16 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
Dyadikosnous Media Converter shows at wp.org #5 but places #13 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 60+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Brizy – Page Builder places #4 on merit, 4.7★ from 972 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Export WordPress Pages to Static HTML & PDF — Static Site Export 4K+ · 3.8★ (51)
wp.org #2 3 
Document Viewer – let visitors view files right in the browser 2K+ · 4.7★ (52)
wp.org #3 4 Brizy – Page Builder 60K+ · 4.7★ (972)
wp.org #21 ↑1 17 too low 5 
OMGF | GDPR/DSGVO Compliant, Faster Google Fonts. Easy. 300K+ · 4.7★ (213)
wp.org #18 ↑1 13 too low 6 
DocxToPost – Import Word (DOCX) & Markdown to Posts, Pages & Custom Post Types 100+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #4 2 too high 7 
ActivityPub 6K+ · 4.9★ (40)
wp.org #20 ↑1 13 too low 8 
Advanced IP Blocker 3K+ · 4.9★ (27)
wp.org #19 ↑1 11 too low 9 
ThumbPress – Compress Images, Manage Thumbnails, Detect Image Issues, WebP/AVIF, Lazy Loading, Hotlinking & More 20K+ · 3.7★ (117)
wp.org #22 ↑1 13 too low 10 
GPTranslate – Multilingual AI Translation Agent for WordPress: Translate Your Site with AI 500+ · 5.0★ (34)
wp.org #23 ↑1 13 too low 11 
WP-Lister Lite for eBay 2K+ · 4.3★ (74)
wp.org #24 13 too low 12 
SwiftSearch for Typesense 10+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #7 5 too high 13 Dyadikosnous Media Converter 60+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviewslow rating, top placement
wp.org #5 8 too high 14 
Groundworx Navigation – Responsive Menu & Mobile Navigation Block 70+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #6 8 too high 15 
Flatten PDF with Cross Service Solutions integration — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #8 7 too high 16 
Lineate — Poetry Blocks 100+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #9 7 too high 17 
Optimized MK Order Porter for WooCommerce 10+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #10 7 too high 18 
CLU Just Modern Images 20+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #11 ↑1 7 too high 19 
MantaWeb Consent Shield – Cookie Consent Banner & Real Cookie Blocker (GDPR, CCPA, Tikun 13) 30+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #12 ↑1 7 too high 20 
PathCatch – URL Health, Redirects & 404 Monitor — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #13 ↑1 7 too high 21 
FlexiTOC – Flexible Table of Contents — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #14 ↑1 7 too high 22 
Distan — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #15 ↑1 7 too high 23 
Easy Redirect — Advanced Redirection, 404 Manager and Domain Name Redirection — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↑1 7 too high 24 
Orbitstem SEO — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #17 ↑1 7 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.