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

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 “growth”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

Metrilo – WooCommerce Growth Platform shows at wp.org #9 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.9★ average from 10 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Advanced Database Cleaner – Optimize & Clean Database to Speed Up Site Performance places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 1962 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #1 2

ShopLentor – All-in-One WooCommerce Growth & Store Enhancement Plugin 80K+ · 4.5★ (278) wp.org #2 ↑1 3

Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1668) wp.org #5 2 too low 4

Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167) wp.org #6 ↑6 2 too low 5

MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435) heavy footprint wp.org #7 2 too low 6

AF Companion – Starter Sites, Speed Booster & Growth Suite for Professional Publishing 10K+ · 4.9★ (34) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #3 ↑1 3 too high 7

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #12 ↓2 5 too low 8

WP ULike – Like Buttons, Voting & Engagement Analytics 60K+ · 4.8★ (283) wp.org #10 ↓4 2 too low 9

Cozy Blocks – Website Builder & Business Growth Toolkit | Popups, Lead Forms & Inbox 6K+ · 4.6★ (21) thin reviews wp.org #4 5 too high 10

Advanced Database Cleaner – Optimize & Clean Database to Speed Up Site Performance 100K+ · 4.9★ (1962) wp.org #16 ↓5 6 too low 11

Cart Abandonment Recovery for WooCommerce – Recover Lost Sales with Automated Emails 300K+ · 4.8★ (625) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #11 ↑8 12

Metricool – Social media and site statistics 90K+ · 4.4★ (22) thin reviews wp.org #8 ↑1 4 too high 13

Product Filter for WooCommerce by WBW 50K+ · 4.8★ (325) wp.org #19 ↑3 6 too low 14

Affiliates 2K+ · 4.5★ (137) wp.org #18 ↓1 4 too low 15

WPZOOM Social Feed Widget & Block 50K+ · 4.3★ (51) wp.org #13 ↓5 2 too high 16

Sucuri Security – Auditing, Malware Scanner and Security Hardening 600K+ · 4.2★ (386) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #14 2 too high 17

Quiz Maker, Poll Maker & Survey Maker by Opinion Stage 6K+ · 4.4★ (277) wp.org #24 7 too low 18

ReviewX – Multi-Criteria Reviews for WooCommerce with Google Reviews & Schema 6K+ · 4.5★ (85) heavy footprint wp.org #21 ↓3 3 too low 19

FluentCart A New Era of eCommerce – Faster, Lighter, and Simpler 9K+ · 4.5★ (46) wp.org #20 1 too low 20

Metrilo – WooCommerce Growth Platform 200+ · 3.9★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #9 11 too high 21

AWeber – Free Sign Up Form and Landing Page Builder Plugin for Lead Generation and Email Newsletter Growth 8K+ · 2.6★ (25) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #17 ↓2 4 too high 22

AI Powered Marketing 50K+ · 2.7★ (29) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #23 ↓2 1 too low 23

WooCommerce Analytics 20K+ · 4.5★ (4) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #15 ↓2 8 too high 24

SiteGround Email Marketing 2K+ · 2.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #22 ↓2 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.