Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “follower”

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 “follower”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 3 plugins are 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

Feeds for TikTok (TikTok feed, video, and gallery plugin) shows at wp.org #12 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 8 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

Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups places #9 on merit, 4.4★ from 859 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4358) wp.org #2 ↓1 1 too low 2 Giveaways and Contests by RafflePress – Get More Website Traffic, Email Subscribers, and Social Followers 20K+ · 3.9★ (43) wp.org #1 ↑1 1 too high 3 Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #3 4 WPZOOM Social Feed Widget & Block 50K+ · 4.3★ (51) wp.org #4 5 Wp Social Login and Register Social Counter 70K+ · 4.6★ (67) wp.org #5 6 WPZOOM Connect: Social Icons Widget & Block, Share Buttons & Click to Chat 90K+ · 4.9★ (144) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 Widgets for Social Photo Feed 10K+ · 4.7★ (28) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 Revive Social – Social Media Auto Post and Scheduling Automation Plugin 20K+ · 4.0★ (556) wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too low 9 Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups 80K+ · 4.4★ (859) wp.org #17 8 too low 10 Social Boost: Giveaways, Instant win and Contests. Grow followers, shares, subscribers, traffic, referrals, sales and more 100+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too high 11 WP Popups – WordPress Popup builder 30K+ · 4.9★ (112) wp.org #16 ↓2 5 too low 12 ActivityPub 6K+ · 4.9★ (40) wp.org #8 ↓1 4 too high 13 Hubbub Lite – Fast, free social sharing and follow buttons 30K+ · 4.7★ (173) wp.org #19 ↓4 6 too low 14 UsersWP – Front-end login form, User Registration, User Profile & Members Directory plugin for WP 20K+ · 4.7★ (183) wp.org #20 ↓1 6 too low 15 OneSignal – Web Push Notifications 60K+ · 4.3★ (360) wp.org #13 ↓2 2 too high 16 Jetpack Social 30K+ · 3.3★ (74) wp.org #10 ↓1 6 too high 17 Rate My Post – Star Rating Plugin by FeedbackWP 20K+ · 4.7★ (159) wp.org #15 ↑3 2 too high 18 Redirection for Contact Form 7 200K+ · 4.7★ (275) wp.org #18 ↓2 19 Gratisfaction- Loyalty, Rewards , Referral, Birthday and Giveaway Program 600+ · 4.8★ (205) wp.org #24 5 too low 20 Feeds for TikTok (TikTok feed, video, and gallery plugin) 70K+ · 4.3★ (11) wp.org #12 ↑1 8 too high 21 Inavii Social Feed – Live Social Proof Gallery 9K+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #21 ↓1 22 Simple Photo Feed 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #14 ↓2 8 too high 23 Combine Social Photos | Still BE 700+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too high 24 SocialFeeds 40K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 1 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.