wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “image caption”
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 “image caption”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 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
Image Ticker Carousel | by Creavi shows at wp.org #15 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Slider, Gallery, and Carousel by MetaSlider – Image Slider, Video Slider 500K+ · 4.6★ (743)
wp.org #1 2 
ShortPixel Image Optimizer – Optimize Images, Convert WebP & AVIF 300K+ · 4.5★ (830)
wp.org #3 1 too low 3 
Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616)
wp.org #5 ↑1 2 too low 4 
FSM Custom Featured Image Caption 5K+ · 4.6★ (22) thin reviews
wp.org #2 2 too high 5 
Auto Image Attributes From Filename With Bulk Updater (Add Alt Text, Image Title For Image SEO) 100K+ · 4.8★ (93)
wp.org #4 1 too high 6 
FooGallery Photo Gallery : Image, Video & Masonry Galleries 100K+ · 4.8★ (995)
wp.org #7 1 too low 7 
Robo Gallery – Photo & Image Slider 40K+ · 4.3★ (406)
wp.org #9 2 too low 8 
Image Hover Effects Ultimate ( Image Gallery, Effects, Lightbox, Comparison & Magnifier ) 10K+ · 4.7★ (250)
wp.org #10 ↓1 2 too low 9 
Image Alt Text 10K+ · 5.0★ (56)
wp.org #8 1 too high 10 
Image Source Control Lite – Show Image Credits and Captions 3K+ · 4.6★ (42)
wp.org #6 ↓1 4 too high 11 
Lightbox for Gallery & Image Block 20K+ · 5.0★ (88)
wp.org #11 ↓1 12 
Product Gallery Slider, Additional Variation Images for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.6★ (160)
wp.org #12 ↑8 13 
Image Widget 100K+ · 4.9★ (287)
wp.org #18 ↓6 5 too low 14 
Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery 300K+ · 4.3★ (4342)
wp.org #23 ↓7 9 too low 15 
Media File Renamer: Rename Images & Files for SEO (AI-Powered) 40K+ · 4.6★ (447)
wp.org #22 7 too low 16 
Lightbox & Modal Popup WordPress Plugin – FooBox 100K+ · 3.9★ (95)
wp.org #13 ↓2 3 too high 17 
Media Library Helper — Bulk edit image ALT, caption & description 10K+ · 4.9★ (58)
wp.org #19 ↓5 2 too low 18 
Image Gallery 3K+ · 4.4★ (32)
wp.org #14 ↑1 4 too high 19 
Easy Image Gallery 4K+ · 4.6★ (41)
wp.org #17 2 too high 20 
Easy Image Collage 3K+ · 4.7★ (22) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↓3 4 too high 21 
Before After Image Comparison – Visual Comparison for Two Images 3K+ · 4.2★ (12) thin reviews
wp.org #20 ↓3 1 too high 22 
Vertical Image Slider – Responsive Thumbnail Slider with Lightbox 1K+ · 4.9★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↓2 1 too high 23 
Image Optimization For SEO 3K+ · 3.7★ (12) thin reviews
wp.org #24 ↓3 1 too low 24 Image Ticker Carousel | by Creavi 500+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #15 ↑9 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.