wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “give”
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 “give”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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
Give – Paystack Gateway shows at wp.org #5 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.7★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Temporary Login Without Password places #12 on merit, 5.0★ from 1550 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.
GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708)
wp.org #1 2 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #2 3 
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27820)
wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #3 ↑4 1 too high 5 
All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231)
wp.org #7 ↑1 2 too low 6 
Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167)
wp.org #6 ↑3 7 
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 #10 ↑3 3 too low 8 
UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8709)
wp.org #11 ↑3 3 too low 9 
BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323)
wp.org #8 ↑2 1 too high 10 
Side Cart Woocommerce | Woocommerce Cart 70K+ · 4.9★ (453)
wp.org #12 2 too low 11 
Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510)
wp.org #9 ↓3 2 too high 12 Temporary Login Without Password 90K+ · 5.0★ (1550)
wp.org #16 ↑1 4 too low 13 
Easy Digital Downloads – eCommerce Payments and Subscriptions made easy 40K+ · 4.7★ (592)
wp.org #17 ↑2 4 too low 14 
FiboSearch – Ajax Search for WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.9★ (1815)
wp.org #24 ↓3 10 too low 15 
Page Builder by SiteOrigin 400K+ · 4.8★ (1005)
wp.org #20 ↑4 5 too low 16 
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281)
wp.org #22 ↓11 6 too low 17 
WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617)
wp.org #21 ↑1 4 too low 18 
Matomo Analytics – Powerful, Privacy-First Insights for WordPress 100K+ · 4.6★ (178)
wp.org #18 19 
Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276)
wp.org #23 4 too low 20 
WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway 700K+ · 3.1★ (237)
wp.org #13 ↑2 7 too high 21 
Safe SVG 1M+ · 4.9★ (79) host-installed base
wp.org #19 ↓1 2 too high 22 Give – Paystack Gateway 1K+ · 4.7★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #5 17 too high 23 
Price Calculator Block – give customers instant price estimates 200+ · 4.5★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #15 ↑1 8 too high 24 
Give as you Live 100+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #14 10 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.