wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “formats”
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 “formats”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 of the top 20. 2 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.
Ranked above its merit
Rich Text Formats shows at wp.org #3 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 19 places. Its 50+ 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
PDF Invoices & Packing Slips for WooCommerce places #11 on merit, 5.0★ from 1865 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.
LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778)
wp.org #2 1 too low 2 
Modern Image Formats 100K+ · 3.6★ (26)
wp.org #1 1 too high 3 
Product Feed Manager for WooCommerce – CTX Feed – Support 220+ Shopping, AI & Social Channels 90K+ · 4.6★ (838)
wp.org #4 ↑2 1 too low 4 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322)
wp.org #5 ↑2 1 too low 5 
W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420)
wp.org #6 ↑18 1 too low 6 
Converter for Media – Optimize images | Convert WebP & AVIF 500K+ · 4.9★ (1107)
wp.org #7 ↓3 1 too low 7 
Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN 1M+ · 4.8★ (6053)
wp.org #8 ↑7 1 too low 8 
Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962)
wp.org #10 ↑1 2 too low 9 
ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051)
wp.org #9 ↑3 10 
All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676)
wp.org #13 3 too low 11 PDF Invoices & Packing Slips for WooCommerce 300K+ · 5.0★ (1865)
wp.org #16 5 too low 12 
Imagify Image Optimization: Optimize Images | Compress & Convert to WebP/AVIF 900K+ · 4.3★ (1657)
wp.org #11 ↓3 1 too high 13 
Polylang 900K+ · 4.7★ (3004)
wp.org #15 ↑2 2 too low 14 
Autoptimize 800K+ · 4.7★ (1428)
wp.org #14 ↓4 15 
Use Any Font | Custom Font Uploader 200K+ · 4.7★ (1148)
wp.org #17 ↑5 2 too low 16 
WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470)
wp.org #21 5 too low 17 
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132)
wp.org #18 1 too low 18 
Enable Media Replace 600K+ · 4.4★ (302)
wp.org #12 ↓7 6 too high 19 
Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7520)
wp.org #22 3 too low 20 
WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4229)
wp.org #23 3 too low 21 
CompressX — AVIF & WebP Converter, Media Replacement 40K+ · 5.0★ (197)
wp.org #24 3 too low 22 Rich Text Formats 50+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #3 19 too high 23 
Hostinger Tools 3M+ · 3.5★ (40) host-installed base
wp.org #20 3 too high 24 
CookieAdmin – Cookie Consent Banner 400K+ · 5.0★ (4) host-installed base thin reviews
wp.org #19 5 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.