wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “found”
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 “found”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 5 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 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
Resource Not Found Placeholder | Prevent redirections due to not foud resources shows at wp.org #12 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 20+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.5★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) places #10 on merit, 5.0★ from 423 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461)
wp.org #1 2 
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821)
wp.org #2 3 
Smart Custom 404 Error Page 100K+ · 4.9★ (1197)
wp.org #3 ↓2 4 
Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397)
wp.org #5 ↓2 1 too low 5 
Postie 10K+ · 4.7★ (139) not PHP-current
wp.org #4 ↓2 1 too high 6 
Redis Object Cache 500K+ · 4.5★ (179)
wp.org #6 ↓2 7 
301 Redirects – Redirect Manager 300K+ · 4.7★ (578)
wp.org #9 ↓2 2 too low 8 
Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276)
wp.org #7 1 too high 9 
Supreme Modules Lite – Divi Theme, Extra Theme and Divi Builder 200K+ · 4.8★ (109)
wp.org #8 ↓3 1 too high 10 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423)
wp.org #14 ↓4 4 too low 11 
Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807)
wp.org #13 ↓7 2 too low 12 
Redirection 2M+ · 4.4★ (703)
wp.org #11 1 too high 13 
Antispam Bee 700K+ · 4.8★ (226)
wp.org #15 2 too low 14 
Converter for Media – Optimize images | Convert WebP & AVIF 500K+ · 4.9★ (1106)
wp.org #22 ↓6 8 too low 15 
All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #18 3 too low 16 
Download Monitor 80K+ · 4.5★ (525)
wp.org #23 ↓6 7 too low 17 
Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) heavy footprint
wp.org #17 ↓4 18 
WP Crontrol 300K+ · 4.4★ (167)
wp.org #19 ↓7 1 too low 19 
Go Live Update Urls 90K+ · 4.5★ (59)
wp.org #16 ↓5 3 too high 20 
One Click Demo Import 1M+ · 4.3★ (79) host-installed base
wp.org #10 ↓1 10 too high 21 
Kadence WooCommerce Email Designer 90K+ · 4.5★ (142)
wp.org #24 ↓6 3 too low 22 
Colorlib 404 Customizer 5K+ · 4.7★ (51)
wp.org #20 ↓6 2 too high 23 D Disable Author Archives 10K+ · 4.4★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↓6 2 too high 24 Resource Not Found Placeholder | Prevent redirections due to not foud resources 20+ · 4.5★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #12 ↓3 12 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.