wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “ideas”
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 “ideas”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 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
GutenDraw – Visualize Ideas with Excalidraw shows at wp.org #10 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 100+ 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
Admin Columns places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 1652 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. 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 ↑1 2 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143)
wp.org #3 1 too low 3 
WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #2 ↓1 1 too high 4 
Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276)
wp.org #4 ↑4 5 
MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435) heavy footprint
wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6 
LightStart – Maintenance Mode, Coming Soon and Landing Page Builder 400K+ · 4.3★ (874)
wp.org #7 ↑2 1 too low 7 Admin Columns 100K+ · 4.9★ (1652)
wp.org #14 ↓2 7 too low 8 
Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) heavy footprint
wp.org #8 ↑5 9 
DearFlip – PDF Flipbook, 3D Flipbook, PDF embed, PDF viewer 200K+ · 4.9★ (194)
wp.org #12 ↓1 3 too low 10 
Public Post Preview 100K+ · 4.6★ (79)
wp.org #9 ↓2 1 too high 11 
Jetpack Boost – Website Speed, Performance and Critical CSS 200K+ · 4.7★ (612)
wp.org #15 ↑3 4 too low 12 
Search Regex 100K+ · 4.7★ (101)
wp.org #11 ↑3 1 too high 13 
WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228)
wp.org #22 ↑2 9 too low 14 
EWWW Image Optimizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1842)
wp.org #24 10 too low 15 
Gravity Forms – Edit Entries 2K+ · 5.0★ (23) thin reviews
wp.org #13 2 too high 16 
Pinterest for WooCommerce 200K+ · 2.3★ (68) throws errorsnot PHP-current low rating, top placement
wp.org #5 ↑1 11 too high 17 
Read Meter – Reading Time & Progress Bar 10K+ · 4.5★ (19) thin reviews
wp.org #19 2 too low 18 
IdeaPush 700+ · 4.5★ (31) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #16 2 too high 19 
Disable Comments 100K+ · 3.8★ (25)
wp.org #18 1 too high 20 
ACF Content Analysis for Yoast SEO 100K+ · 4.1★ (35)
wp.org #23 ↓2 3 too low 21 
Surfer – WordPress Plugin 6K+ · 4.7★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #17 ↓2 4 too high 22 
WP Duplicate Page 60K+ · 4.2★ (16) thin reviews
wp.org #20 2 too high 23 GutenDraw – Visualize Ideas with Excalidraw 100+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #10 13 too high 24 
Hostinger Reach – AI-Powered Email Marketing for WordPress 1M+ · 5.0★ (8) host-installed base thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↑2 3 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.