wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “github”
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 “github”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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
Embed Block for GitHub shows at wp.org #3 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 19 places. Its 400+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.2★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 8869 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #1 2 
LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778)
wp.org #4 ↑1 2 too low 3 
Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1668)
wp.org #5 ↑1 2 too low 4 
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821)
wp.org #10 ↑4 6 too low 5 
SVG Support 1M+ · 4.8★ (356)
wp.org #6 ↑4 1 too low 6 G Github Embed 1K+ · 3.9★ (14) thin reviews
wp.org #2 ↑1 4 too high 7 
Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276)
wp.org #7 ↑2 8 
WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (759)
wp.org #9 1 too low 9 Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869)
wp.org #16 ↑6 7 too low 10 
FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410)
wp.org #13 ↓5 3 too low 11 
Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks 1M+ · 4.7★ (1872) heavy footprint
wp.org #14 ↓1 3 too low 12 
Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) not PHP-current
wp.org #12 ↓5 13 
WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1915)
wp.org #19 ↓2 6 too low 14 
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #22 ↓3 8 too low 15 
Loginizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1033) not PHP-current
wp.org #15 16 
Easy MCP AI – Connect Claude to WordPress: MCP Server for ChatGPT & AI Agents 30K+ · 4.9★ (16) thin reviews
wp.org #8 ↑4 8 too high 17 
WP Plugin Info Card – Showcase Beautiful Plugin, Theme, and GitHub Cards Anywhere 400+ · 5.0★ (23) thin reviews
wp.org #11 6 too high 18 
BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) not PHP-current
wp.org #17 ↑1 1 too high 19 
Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #20 1 too low 20 
Antispam Bee 700K+ · 4.8★ (226)
wp.org #23 ↓7 3 too low 21 
Yoast Duplicate Post 3M+ · 4.7★ (538) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #18 ↓7 3 too high 22 Embed Block for GitHub 400+ · 4.2★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #3 ↑1 19 too high 23 
FluentAuth – Login Security, Two-Factor Authentication, Passkeys & Social Login 10K+ · 4.1★ (35)
wp.org #24 1 too low 24 
Git it Write – Write posts from GitHub 100+ · 4.7★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #21 3 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.