wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “hidden”
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 “hidden”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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.
Ranked above its merit
Hidden Password Protected Pages shows at wp.org #2 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 600+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 3220 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821)
wp.org #1 2 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143)
wp.org #4 ↑1 2 too low 3 
bbPress 100K+ · 3.9★ (343)
wp.org #3 ↑1 4 
Akismet Anti-spam: Spam Protection 5M+ · 4.7★ (1187)
wp.org #5 ↓2 1 too low 5 
Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519)
wp.org #9 ↓1 4 too low 6 
Search Exclude 50K+ · 4.8★ (218)
wp.org #8 ↑6 2 too low 7 
Relevanssi – A Better Search 100K+ · 4.8★ (406)
wp.org #10 ↓4 3 too low 8 
Conditional Fields for Contact Form 7 100K+ · 4.8★ (166) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #6 ↑1 2 too high 9 
Nested Pages 90K+ · 4.7★ (126)
wp.org #11 ↓2 2 too low 10 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220)
wp.org #22 ↓5 12 too low 11 
Disable Admin Notices – Hide Dashboard Notifications 100K+ · 4.7★ (367)
wp.org #17 ↓1 6 too low 12 
File Manager Pro – Filester 100K+ · 4.9★ (155)
wp.org #15 3 too low 13 
Campos Checkout Brasileiro para WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.9★ (45) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #7 6 too high 14 
Ultimate Category Excluder 50K+ · 4.3★ (78)
wp.org #13 ↑2 1 too high 15 
Visibility Logic for Elementor 20K+ · 4.8★ (58)
wp.org #16 ↓3 1 too low 16 
Lightbox & Modal Popup WordPress Plugin – FooBox 100K+ · 3.9★ (95)
wp.org #14 ↓2 2 too high 17 H Hidden Password Protected Pages 600+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #2 15 too high 18 
Disable Comments 1M+ · 4.7★ (281)
wp.org #19 ↓9 1 too low 19 
Scriptless Social Sharing 10K+ · 5.0★ (70)
wp.org #23 4 too low 20 
Read More Without Refresh 20K+ · 4.2★ (55)
wp.org #21 ↓3 1 too low 21 
Disable Comments 100K+ · 3.8★ (25)
wp.org #18 ↑2 3 too high 22 
Quotes for WooCommerce 4K+ · 4.6★ (61) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #24 ↓5 2 too low 23 
Page Visits Counter – Lite 5K+ · 4.0★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #12 ↓1 11 too high 24 
La Poste Pro Expéditions WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (5) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #20 4 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.