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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “full backup”

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 “full backup”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 4 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

Royal WordPress Backup, Restore & Migration Plugin – Backup WordPress Sites Safely shows at wp.org #13 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 30K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin wp.org
1 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #1 2 Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) wp.org #2 3 Backup Migration 80K+ · 4.9★ (1338) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676) wp.org #6 7 WPvivid — Backup, Migration & Staging 900K+ · 4.9★ (1568) wp.org #7 8 JetBackup – Backup, Restore & Migrate 200K+ · 4.5★ (1056) wp.org #10 ↓1 2 too low 9 BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) wp.org #8 1 too high 10 BlogVault Backup & Staging 80K+ · 4.6★ (332) wp.org #11 ↓1 1 too low 11 Backuply – Backup, Restore, Migrate and Clone 600K+ · 4.5★ (135) wp.org #9 ↑3 2 too high 12 WP Database Backup – Unlimited Database & Files Backup by Backup for WP 20K+ · 4.5★ (102) wp.org #12 ↓1 13 Total Upkeep – WordPress Backup Plugin plus Restore & Migrate by BoldGrid 40K+ · 4.8★ (442) wp.org #14 ↓1 1 too low 14 WP Umbrella: Security Backup Restore & Monitoring 90K+ · 4.8★ (81) wp.org #15 ↓1 1 too low 15 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5038) wp.org #21 6 too low 16 Prime Mover – Backup and Migration 10K+ · 5.0★ (141) wp.org #22 6 too low 17 Backup, Restore and Migrate your sites with XCloner 10K+ · 4.2★ (129) wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too low 18 Jetpack VaultPress Backup 20K+ · 4.5★ (35) wp.org #16 2 too high 19 Everest Backup – WordPress Cloud Backup, Migration, Restore & Cloning Plugin 3K+ · 4.4★ (45) wp.org #18 1 too high 20 Royal WordPress Backup, Restore & Migration Plugin – Backup WordPress Sites Safely 30K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #13 ↑2 7 too high 21 Backup Bolt – Lightweight Backup, Fast WordPress Backup to ZIP 800+ · 4.7★ (13) wp.org #17 4 too high 22 Tracking and Consent Manager – WP Full Picture 3K+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #19 ↑1 3 too high 23 WebToffee WP Backup and Migration 5K+ · 4.5★ (49) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Menu Backup & Restore + Import/Export 500+ · 5.0★ (3) 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.