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

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

Rara One Click Demo Import shows at wp.org #11 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 20K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.7★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin signals wp.org

UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #1 2

Maintenance 1M+ · 4.4★ (869) wp.org #3 1 too low 3

ManageWP Worker 1M+ · 4.6★ (679) wp.org #4 1 too low 4

GNU Terry Pratchett 1K+ · 5.0★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #2 2 too high 5 W WP Photo Album Plus 10K+ · 4.7★ (199) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #5 6

BEAR – Bulk Editor for WooCommerce Professional. AI assistant on board (MCP Server) 30K+ · 4.7★ (228) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #7 1 too low 7

HUSKY – Products Filter for WooCommerce Professional. MCP is onboard 80K+ · 4.6★ (337) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #8 1 too low 8

WP Datepicker 6K+ · 4.8★ (37) wp.org #9 1 too low 9

One User Avatar | User Profile Picture 100K+ · 4.7★ (41) wp.org #10 1 too low 10

WP Sort Order 6K+ · 4.5★ (17) thin reviews wp.org #6 4 too high 11 W WP-dTree 2K+ · 4.8★ (25) wp.org #13 2 too low 12

LightPress Lightbox 40K+ · 4.6★ (72) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #12 13 F FeedWordPress 8K+ · 4.2★ (61) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #14 1 too low 14

WP Header Images 4K+ · 4.4★ (35) wp.org #21 7 too low 15

LWS Hide Login 20K+ · 4.7★ (12) thin reviews wp.org #17 2 too low 16 C Custom Upload Dir 5K+ · 4.4★ (25) wp.org #22 6 too low 17

T4B News Ticker – Responsive News Scroller, Slider, and Animations 7K+ · 4.5★ (16) thin reviews wp.org #20 3 too low 18

Block Editor Colors 3K+ · 4.8★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #23 5 too low 19

WP Docs 1K+ · 4.8★ (18) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #19 20

Bangla Web Fonts 2K+ · 4.8★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #16 4 too high 21

Meta for WooCommerce 400K+ · 2.1★ (481) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #15 6 too high 22

Rara One Click Demo Import 20K+ · 2.7★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #11 11 too high 23

TemplateSpare – 1000+ WordPress Starter Templates & Full Site Migration Tool | 1-Click Import/Export & No-Code Builder 10K+ · 4.3★ (6) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint thin reviews wp.org #24 1 too low 24

Themebeez Toolkit 9K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #18 6 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.