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← Rankings

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

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 “freedom”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 4 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

APCu Manager shows at wp.org #11 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.6★ average from 20 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #1 2 Page Builder by SiteOrigin 400K+ · 4.8★ (1005) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Kirki – Freeform Page Builder, Website Builder & Customizer 400K+ · 4.5★ (81) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too high 5 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too low 6 Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too high 7 PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #10 ↓1 3 too low 8 Smart Slider 3 800K+ · 4.9★ (1125) wp.org #9 ↑1 1 too low 9 Beaver Builder Page Builder – Drag and Drop Website Builder 100K+ · 4.7★ (394) wp.org #12 3 too low 10 Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157) wp.org #8 2 too high 11 Custom Fonts – Host Your Fonts Locally 400K+ · 4.3★ (62) wp.org #7 ↓2 4 too high 12 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #15 3 too low 13 Visual Composer Website Builder 30K+ · 4.6★ (220) wp.org #13 14 WPAdverts – Classifieds Plugin 4K+ · 4.8★ (160) wp.org #16 2 too low 15 Instapage Plugin 4K+ · 4.8★ (218) wp.org #21 6 too low 16 Fullwidth Templates for Any Theme & Page Builder 20K+ · 4.7★ (42) wp.org #18 2 too low 17 Xpro Theme Builder For Elementor – FREE 20K+ · 5.0★ (14) wp.org #14 3 too high 18 WP Simple Booking Calendar 10K+ · 4.8★ (227) wp.org #23 ↑1 5 too low 19 Tracking Code Manager 90K+ · 4.1★ (58) wp.org #22 3 too low 20 APCu Manager 10K+ · 4.6★ (20) wp.org #11 9 too high 21 Ollie Menu Designer 6K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #17 4 too high 22 WPC Name Your Price for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.4★ (19) wp.org #19 3 too high 23 Canvas 9K+ · 4.1★ (8) wp.org #24 ↓1 1 too low 24 OPcache Manager 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #20 4 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.