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← Rankings

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

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 stack”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Rollbar shows at wp.org #2 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Cookiebot – Cookie Banner & Cookie Consent for GDPR, CCPA & Google Consent Mode places #12 on merit, 4.4★ from 440 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276) wp.org #1 ↑4 2 Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Query Monitor 200K+ · 4.9★ (470) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 HappyAddons for Elementor – 160 Elementor Widgets, GSAP Animations & Templates 400K+ · 4.8★ (489) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470) wp.org #9 ↑2 4 too low 6 Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #7 ↑1 1 too low 7 HireZoot – Job Listings, Career Page & Recruitment Tool 30K+ · 4.8★ (194) wp.org #8 ↑1 1 too low 8 HandL UTM Grabber / Tracker 10K+ · 4.8★ (146) wp.org #11 ↑2 3 too low 9 Better Block Editor (BBE) 6K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #5 ↑2 4 too high 10 FooGallery Photo Gallery : Image, Video & Masonry Galleries 100K+ · 4.8★ (995) wp.org #20 ↓2 10 too low 11 ManageWP Worker 1M+ · 4.6★ (679) wp.org #16 ↑5 5 too low 12 Cookiebot – Cookie Banner & Cookie Consent for GDPR, CCPA & Google Consent Mode 100K+ · 4.4★ (440) wp.org #23 ↓6 11 too low 13 Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #22 ↓21 9 too low 14 Headers Security Advanced & HSTS WP 90K+ · 4.9★ (79) wp.org #21 ↑1 7 too low 15 Debug Log Manager Tool 3K+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #14 1 too high 16 Album Gallery for Photo & Video 4K+ · 4.8★ (26) wp.org #15 1 too high 17 Rollbar 300+ · 4.0★ (3) wp.org #2 15 too high 18 Version Info – Server Health Monitor, PHP & MySQL Version Display, Environment Indicators 10K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #19 ↑1 1 too low 19 Angie – Agentic AI 100K+ · 3.3★ (20) wp.org #12 ↓2 7 too high 20 Modern Cart – WooCommerce Side Cart & Popup Cart 60K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #24 4 too low 21 VK All in One Expansion Unit 100K+ · 4.0★ (7) wp.org #10 ↑2 11 too high 22 Support WebP – Upload webp files in wordpress without hassle 4K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #18 ↓2 4 too high 23 W WPBase Cache 3K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #13 10 too high 24 RunCache – Full-Page, Object, and Edge Caching 4K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↑2 7 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.