wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “google cloud storage”
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 “google cloud storage”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 of the top 20. 4 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
Cloud Storage Manager for Fluent Forms – Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, S3 Uploads shows at wp.org #11 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 400+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 9 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Backup Migration places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 1338 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #1 2 
UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706)
wp.org #2 3 
WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470)
wp.org #5 2 too low 4 
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint
wp.org #7 ↑1 3 too low 5 
WP Offload Media Lite for Amazon S3, DigitalOcean Spaces, and Google Cloud Storage 30K+ · 3.7★ (115)
wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too high 6 
Offload Media – Cloud Storage 1K+ · 4.4★ (18) thin reviews
wp.org #3 ↑1 3 too high 7 
WPvivid — Backup, Migration & Staging 900K+ · 4.9★ (1568)
wp.org #10 ↑2 3 too low 8 
Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962)
wp.org #12 ↑2 4 too low 9 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #14 ↓1 5 too low 10 
WP Go Maps – Google Map, OpenStreetMap, Leaflet Map 300K+ · 4.8★ (3055) not PHP-current
wp.org #13 ↓6 3 too low 11 Backup Migration 80K+ · 4.9★ (1338)
wp.org #18 ↓3 7 too low 12 
Pixel Manager for WooCommerce – Conversion Tracking, Google Ads, GA4, TikTok, Dynamic Remarketing 40K+ · 4.9★ (399)
wp.org #16 4 too low 13 
All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676)
wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too low 14 
Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221)
wp.org #24 10 too low 15 
Advanced File Manager – Ultimate File Manager for WordPress And Document Library Solution 100K+ · 4.8★ (441)
wp.org #19 ↑3 4 too low 16 
GSheetConnector – CF7 Google Sheets Connector & Save CF7 Entries to Database 40K+ · 4.4★ (129) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #9 7 too high 17 
WP-Stateless – Google Cloud Storage 4K+ · 3.9★ (51) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #6 11 too high 18 
EWWW Image Optimizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1842)
wp.org #21 ↓3 3 too low 19 
BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) not PHP-current
wp.org #15 ↑2 4 too high 20 
Media Cloud Sync 1K+ · 4.9★ (13) thin reviews
wp.org #8 ↑2 12 too high 21 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too high 22 
Backuply – Backup, Restore, Migrate and Clone 600K+ · 4.5★ (135)
wp.org #23 1 too low 23 
Reviews and Rating – Google Reviews 20K+ · 4.9★ (184) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #22 ↓2 1 too high 24 Cloud Storage Manager for Fluent Forms – Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, S3 Uploads 400+ · 5.0★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #11 13 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.