wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “google translation”
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 translation”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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
Universally – AI Translation & Multilingual SEO: Translate Your Site into 110+ Languages shows at wp.org #14 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 30K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Translate WordPress with Weglot 2.0 – Multilingual AI Translation places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 1940 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.
Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667)
wp.org #1 2 
TranslatePress – Translate Multilingual sites with AI Translation 400K+ · 4.7★ (1667)
wp.org #2 ↓1 3 
Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962)
wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 
XML Sitemap Generator for Google 1M+ · 4.8★ (2233)
wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 
MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #3 ↓1 2 too high 6 
Translate WordPress – Google Language Translator 100K+ · 4.7★ (620)
wp.org #6 ↓1 7 
WP Go Maps – Google Map, OpenStreetMap, Leaflet Map 300K+ · 4.8★ (3055) not PHP-current
wp.org #7 ↓1 8 
Easy Google Maps by Supsystic – Custom Markers, Clustering & Map Themes 20K+ · 4.6★ (251)
wp.org #9 ↑8 1 too low 9 
MapPress – Google Maps, OpenStreetMap & Leaflet 30K+ · 4.7★ (147)
wp.org #10 ↓3 1 too low 10 
UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706)
wp.org #15 ↓2 5 too low 11 Translate WordPress with Weglot 2.0 – Multilingual AI Translation 50K+ · 4.8★ (1940)
wp.org #18 ↓3 7 too low 12 
Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519)
wp.org #16 ↓2 4 too low 13 
Google Authenticator 20K+ · 4.3★ (135)
wp.org #11 ↓3 2 too high 14 
Local Google Fonts 100K+ · 4.6★ (83)
wp.org #12 ↓3 2 too high 15 
GSheetConnector – CF7 Google Sheets Connector & Save CF7 Entries to Database 40K+ · 4.4★ (129) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #8 ↑4 7 too high 16 
Maps Widget for Google Maps 20K+ · 4.6★ (512)
wp.org #20 4 too low 17 
Simple Calendar – Google Calendar Plugin 50K+ · 3.8★ (397) heavy footprint
wp.org #13 ↓3 4 too high 18 
reCaptcha by BestWebSoft 100K+ · 3.9★ (391)
wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too low 19 
Post to Google My Business (Google Business Profile) 10K+ · 4.9★ (159) not PHP-current
wp.org #23 4 too low 20 
Login for Google Apps by WPAuth 10K+ · 4.6★ (64)
wp.org #22 ↓1 2 too low 21 
Prisna GWT – Google Website Translator 8K+ · 4.5★ (54)
wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too high 22 
Dynamic XML Sitemaps Generator for Google 20K+ · 4.7★ (47)
wp.org #24 2 too low 23 
Insights from Google PageSpeed 10K+ · 4.8★ (28) not PHP-current
wp.org #21 ↓2 2 too high 24 Universally – AI Translation & Multilingual SEO: Translate Your Site into 110+ Languages 30K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #14 ↓3 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.