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← Rankings

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

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 “grade”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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.

W

Ranked above its merit

WP Grade Comments shows at wp.org #5 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 80+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP Activity Log places #11 on merit, 4.7★ from 490 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) wp.org #1 2 All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676) wp.org #2 3 WP 2FA – Two-factor authentication for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (184) wp.org #3 4 W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #4 5 Beaver Builder Page Builder – Drag and Drop Website Builder 100K+ · 4.7★ (394) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 User Switching 200K+ · 4.9★ (238) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 LazyLoad Plugin – Lazy Load Images, Videos, and Iframes 100K+ · 4.2★ (139) wp.org #10 ↑1 3 too low 8 Watu Quiz 3K+ · 4.7★ (137) wp.org #12 ↑1 4 too low 9 MasterStudy LMS WordPress Plugin – for Online Courses and Education 10K+ · 4.5★ (487) wp.org #15 ↑1 6 too low 10 Better Post & Filter Widgets for Elementor 4K+ · 5.0★ (18) wp.org #6 4 too high 11 WP Activity Log 300K+ · 4.7★ (490) wp.org #21 10 too low 12 WCFM Marketplace – Multivendor Marketplace for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.6★ (449) wp.org #14 ↑1 2 too low 13 Imagify Image Optimization: Optimize Images | Compress & Convert to WebP/AVIF 900K+ · 4.3★ (1656) wp.org #23 ↓1 10 too low 14 Atlant Security 700+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #7 7 too high 15 SecuPress with Simple SSL – Simple and Performant Security 40K+ · 4.1★ (106) wp.org #17 2 too low 16 Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #13 ↑1 3 too high 17 LearnPress – WordPress LMS Plugin for Create and Sell Online Courses 70K+ · 4.3★ (597) wp.org #19 2 too low 18 Twenty20 Image Before-After 20K+ · 4.0★ (54) wp.org #18 19 WP GPX Maps 4K+ · 4.1★ (59) wp.org #16 ↓6 3 too high 20 W WP Grade Comments 80+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #5 15 too high 21 Media Library Downloader 5K+ · 4.8★ (8) wp.org #11 ↑1 10 too high 22 WP Search with Algolia 7K+ · 4.5★ (24) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 School Management System – WPSchoolPress 1K+ · 4.0★ (21) wp.org #20 3 too high 24 CMS ADMINS Security Check Report 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 ↑1 2 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.