Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “get response”

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 “get response”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 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

Contact Form 7 GetResponse Extension shows at wp.org #11 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin places #5 on merit, 4.8★ from 8708 reviews, but shows at wp.org #9. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #1 2 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #4 5 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8708) wp.org #9 4 too low 6 Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012) wp.org #6 7 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too low 8 W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #10 ↑9 2 too low 9 Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) wp.org #7 ↓2 2 too high 10 H HTTP 410 (Gone) responses 4K+ · 4.6★ (21) wp.org #5 ↑1 5 too high 11 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #13 2 too low 12 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #14 ↓3 2 too low 13 WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209) wp.org #16 3 too low 14 Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517) wp.org #17 ↓4 3 too low 15 Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #15 ↓3 16 Get Use APIs – JSON Content Importer 5K+ · 4.9★ (78) wp.org #12 ↓4 4 too high 17 WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312) wp.org #19 ↓5 2 too low 18 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #18 ↓2 19 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #23 ↑1 4 too low 20 The SEO Framework – Fast, Automated, Effortless. 200K+ · 4.9★ (380) wp.org #20 21 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 Contact Form 7 GetResponse Extension 1K+ · 4.3★ (7) wp.org #11 ↓1 11 too high 23 WooCommerce PayPal Payments 800K+ · 2.9★ (583) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 Crowdsignal Forms 200K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #24 ↓4

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.