wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “ignore”
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 “ignore”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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
Ignore Or Disable Plugin Update shows at wp.org #1 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 200+ 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
Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 215 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.
Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167)
wp.org #2 ↑1 1 too low 2 
Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517)
wp.org #4 ↑2 2 too low 3 
Redirection 2M+ · 4.4★ (703)
wp.org #3 ↓1 4 
External Links – nofollow, noopener & new window 80K+ · 4.3★ (247)
wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 
Loginizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1033)
wp.org #7 ↑4 2 too low 6 
WP Umbrella: Security Backup Restore & Monitoring 90K+ · 4.8★ (81)
wp.org #6 ↓1 7 
Media Cleaner: Delete Unused Images & Clean Your Media Library 90K+ · 4.6★ (779)
wp.org #12 ↓4 5 too low 8 Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails 100K+ · 4.8★ (215)
wp.org #14 ↑1 6 too low 9 A Advanced Excerpt 80K+ · 4.3★ (101)
wp.org #10 1 too low 10 
Widget Context 30K+ · 4.5★ (98)
wp.org #11 ↑1 1 too low 11 
Min Max Quantities – Set Minimum/Maximum Quantity & Price Limits with Step Control for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.8★ (60)
wp.org #13 2 too low 12 
Fast Velocity Minify 30K+ · 4.6★ (195)
wp.org #17 ↑5 5 too low 13 
Speculative Loading 70K+ · 5.0★ (18) thin reviews
wp.org #9 4 too high 14 
LWS Cleaner 20K+ · 4.8★ (16) thin reviews
wp.org #8 ↓1 6 too high 15 
White Label CMS 200K+ · 4.7★ (114)
wp.org #16 1 too low 16 Ignore Or Disable Plugin Update 200+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #1 15 too high 17 
Broken Link Checker 500K+ · 3.8★ (605)
wp.org #19 ↑2 2 too low 18 
Stream – Activity Log & Audit Trail 70K+ · 4.3★ (76)
wp.org #22 ↓3 4 too low 19 
ACF Content Analysis for Yoast SEO 100K+ · 4.1★ (35)
wp.org #15 ↓1 4 too high 20 
StatCounter – Real Time Visitor Stats, Session Replay & Heatmaps 70K+ · 4.2★ (58)
wp.org #21 ↓3 1 too low 21 
WEBKINDER Integration for Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager 10K+ · 4.8★ (20) thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↓1 3 too high 22 
Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #20 2 too high 23 
Remove "Powered by WordPress" 20K+ · 4.4★ (21) thin reviews
wp.org #23 24 
SRS Simple Hits Counter 8K+ · 4.2★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #24 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.