Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “github hosting”

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 hosting”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 3 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

GoDAM – Video Hosting for LMS & Online Courses shows at wp.org #13 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 5209 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #1 2 Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too low 4 Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5 Pay with Vipps and MobilePay for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.8★ (13) wp.org #2 3 too high 6 Simply Static – The Static Site Generator 30K+ · 4.5★ (195) wp.org #7 ↓3 1 too low 7 Docket Cache – Object Cache Accelerator 20K+ · 4.9★ (50) wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too high 8 SVG Support 1M+ · 4.8★ (356) wp.org #8 9 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #9 ↑2 10 WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (758) wp.org #10 ↑4 11 Big File Uploads – Increase Maximum File Upload Size 100K+ · 4.9★ (403) wp.org #15 ↓2 4 too low 12 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 #17 5 too low 13 Advanced File Manager – Ultimate File Manager for WordPress And Document Library Solution 100K+ · 4.8★ (441) wp.org #18 5 too low 14 Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks 1M+ · 4.7★ (1872) wp.org #14 ↓1 15 GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) wp.org #11 ↓2 4 too high 16 WP Plugin Info Card – Showcase Beautiful Plugin, Theme, and GitHub Cards Anywhere 400+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #12 4 too high 17 WP Server Health Stats 9K+ · 4.8★ (110) wp.org #20 3 too low 18 Stream – Activity Log & Audit Trail 70K+ · 4.3★ (76) wp.org #22 ↓2 4 too low 19 Seriously Simple Podcasting 20K+ · 4.7★ (330) wp.org #23 ↓9 4 too low 20 Staatic – Static Site Generator for WordPress 3K+ · 4.4★ (21) wp.org #21 1 too low 21 AI 60K+ · 4.2★ (10) wp.org #16 ↓7 5 too high 22 InstaWP Connect – 1-click WP Staging & Migration 40K+ · 4.5★ (12) wp.org #24 ↓2 2 too low 23 External files in Media Library 500+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #19 4 too high 24 GoDAM – Video Hosting for LMS & Online Courses 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 11 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.