wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “help box”
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 “help box”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20.
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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.
Ranked above its merit
Alert Box Block – Grab Attention with Eye-Catching Notices shows at wp.org #15 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 400+ 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
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 4132 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.
Meta Box – A Framework for Dynamic Websites 500K+ · 4.8★ (165)
wp.org #1 2 
Simple Author Box 90K+ · 4.3★ (115)
wp.org #2 3 
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27820)
wp.org #5 ↑1 2 too low 4 
The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461)
wp.org #4 5 
Popup Box – Create Countdown, Coupon, Video, Contact Form Popups 50K+ · 4.6★ (82)
wp.org #3 2 too high 6 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322)
wp.org #7 ↑1 1 too low 7 
Noptin – Newsletter, New Post Notifications & Email Automation 10K+ · 4.5★ (120)
wp.org #9 ↓2 2 too low 8 
Co-Authors, Multiple Authors and Guest Authors in an Author Box with PublishPress Authors 20K+ · 4.9★ (114)
wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too low 9 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132)
wp.org #21 ↑1 12 too low 10 
Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN 1M+ · 4.8★ (6053)
wp.org #22 ↓3 12 too low 11 
Popup Box – Easily Create WordPress Popups 6K+ · 5.0★ (11) thin reviews
wp.org #6 ↓1 5 too high 12 
TranslatePress – Translate Multilingual sites with AI Translation 400K+ · 4.7★ (1667)
wp.org #24 ↓4 12 too low 13 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #19 6 too low 14 
Coupzy Coupon Box for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.6★ (37)
wp.org #13 1 too high 15 
Social Like Box and Page by WpDevArt 5K+ · 4.2★ (88)
wp.org #16 1 too low 16 
Admin Help Docs 600+ · 5.0★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #8 ↑1 8 too high 17 
Gallery Box 1K+ · 4.1★ (18) thin reviews
wp.org #10 ↑1 7 too high 18 
Easy Social Like Box – Popup – Sidebar Widget 6K+ · 4.4★ (18) thin reviews
wp.org #12 6 too high 19 
WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway 700K+ · 3.1★ (237)
wp.org #23 ↑1 4 too low 20 
Counter Box – Add Countdowns, Timers & Dynamic Counters to WordPress 1K+ · 4.5★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #14 6 too high 21 
ChatHelp – Click to Chat Button, Chat to Order for WooCommerce & Floating Chat Form 2K+ · 4.4★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #18 3 too high 22 
Cool Author Box – For Widget and Post Content 500+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #20 ↑1 2 too high 23 
Service Box Slider 400+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #17 6 too high 24 Alert Box Block – Grab Attention with Eye-Catching Notices 400+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #15 9 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.