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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “global”

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 “global”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

WP Global Site Tag shows at wp.org #4 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 7K+ 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

Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 2433 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #1 2 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5038) wp.org #2 3 Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN 1M+ · 4.8★ (6053) wp.org #7 ↓1 4 too low 4 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #6 ↓2 2 too low 5 Custom Global Variables 5K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 morkva UA Shipping – Nova Poshta, Ukrposhta, Rozetka, Nova Global 1K+ · 4.9★ (29) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433) wp.org #15 ↓2 8 too low 8 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1668) wp.org #11 ↓4 3 too low 9 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #13 ↓5 4 too low 10 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #10 ↑1 11 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #16 ↓2 5 too low 12 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #19 7 too low 13 Polylang 900K+ · 4.7★ (3003) wp.org #18 ↑2 5 too low 14 Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks 1M+ · 4.7★ (1872) wp.org #20 ↑1 6 too low 15 Akismet Anti-spam: Spam Protection 5M+ · 4.7★ (1187) wp.org #23 ↓8 8 too low 16 WooCommerce PayPal Payments 800K+ · 2.9★ (583) wp.org #8 ↑4 8 too high 17 Syncee Premium Dropshipping & Wholesale 1K+ · 4.5★ (49) wp.org #24 ↓1 7 too low 18 WP Global Site Tag 7K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #4 ↓1 14 too high 19 WooPayments: Integrated WooCommerce Payments 800K+ · 3.4★ (177) wp.org #17 2 too high 20 Quaderno: Global Tax & Invoicing Automation for WooCommerce 400+ · 4.7★ (18) wp.org #21 ↓5 1 too low 21 Disable Global Style 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #9 ↓4 12 too high 22 Sitewide Discount for WooCommerce: Apply Discount to All Products 600+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #22 ↓4 23 Global Site Tag Tracking 1K+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #12 ↓3 11 too high 24 GlobalPayments Gateway Provider for WooCommerce 1K+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #14 ↓4 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.