wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “gallery box”
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 “gallery box”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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
Mosaic Gallery – Advanced Gallery shows at wp.org #17 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Slideshow Gallery LITE places #12 on merit, 4.6★ from 743 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616)
wp.org #1 2 
Envira Gallery – Image Photo Gallery, Albums, Video Gallery, Slideshows & More 100K+ · 4.7★ (1597)
wp.org #3 1 too low 3 
Photo Gallery by 10Web – Mobile-Friendly Image Gallery 100K+ · 4.5★ (1581) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #4 ↑2 1 too low 4 
SimpLy Gallery 40K+ · 4.8★ (118)
wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 
Meow Gallery 10K+ · 4.9★ (203)
wp.org #7 ↓2 2 too low 6 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #6 ↑1 7 
Justified Gallery 8K+ · 4.9★ (206)
wp.org #8 1 too low 8 
Gallery Box 1K+ · 4.1★ (18) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #2 6 too high 9 
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) not PHP-current
wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too low 10 
Ultimate Before After Image Slider & Gallery – BEAF 30K+ · 4.9★ (107)
wp.org #13 ↓3 3 too low 11 
All-in-One Video Gallery – Video Player & Galleries for YouTube, Vimeo & Self-Hosted Videos 20K+ · 4.8★ (136)
wp.org #15 ↓1 4 too low 12 Slideshow Gallery LITE 5K+ · 4.6★ (743)
wp.org #19 ↓2 7 too low 13 
Document Gallery 8K+ · 4.8★ (112) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #9 4 too high 14 
Variation Images Gallery for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (39)
wp.org #11 3 too high 15 
Product Gallery Slider, Additional Variation Images, Product Video, Product Image Zoom and Lightbox for WooCommerce – Reno Product Gallery (formerly WooGallery) 20K+ · 4.9★ (162) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #12 3 too high 16 
Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) heavy footprint
wp.org #24 8 too low 17 
Easy Image Gallery 4K+ · 4.6★ (41) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #16 1 too high 18 
Catch Gallery 10K+ · 4.0★ (16) thin reviews
wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too high 19 
Video Gallery for WooCommerce – Add Product Video & Featured Video 4K+ · 5.0★ (44) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #22 ↓2 3 too low 20 
Lightbox slider – Responsive Lightbox Gallery 3K+ · 4.7★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↓3 1 too low 21 
Photo Gallery by Ays – Responsive Image Gallery 1K+ · 4.8★ (19) thin reviews
wp.org #23 ↓2 2 too low 22 
CatFolders Document Gallery & PDF Library 3K+ · 4.5★ (15) thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↑4 4 too high 23 
Pixel Gallery Addons for Elementor 4K+ · 4.8★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #20 ↓5 3 too high 24 Mosaic Gallery – Advanced Gallery 3K+ · 4.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #17 ↓1 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.