wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “image overlay”
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 overlay”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20. 2 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
Secondary Product Image for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #18 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.5★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Envira Gallery – Image Photo Gallery, Albums, Video Gallery, Slideshows & More places #11 on merit, 4.7★ from 1597 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.
Flipbox – Awesomes Flip Boxes Image Overlay 9K+ · 4.7★ (149)
wp.org #1 2 
Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN 1M+ · 4.8★ (6053)
wp.org #4 2 too low 3 
Image Watermark 40K+ · 4.2★ (298)
wp.org #3 4 
Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616)
wp.org #5 1 too low 5 
Image Hover Effects Ultimate ( Image Gallery, Effects, Lightbox, Comparison & Magnifier ) 10K+ · 4.7★ (250)
wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too low 6 
Overlay Image Divi Module 2K+ · 5.0★ (17) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #2 4 too high 7 
Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) heavy footprint
wp.org #6 ↑2 1 too high 8 
Ultimate Responsive Image Slider 30K+ · 4.5★ (248)
wp.org #9 ↑3 1 too low 9 
Image Hover Effects – Elementor Addon 40K+ · 4.9★ (83)
wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too high 10 
Robo Gallery – Photo & Image Slider 40K+ · 4.3★ (406)
wp.org #10 ↓1 11 Envira Gallery – Image Photo Gallery, Albums, Video Gallery, Slideshows & More 100K+ · 4.7★ (1597)
wp.org #21 ↓7 10 too low 12 
Image Source Control Lite – Show Image Credits and Captions 3K+ · 4.6★ (42)
wp.org #12 ↓1 13 
Ultimate Before After Image Slider & Gallery – BEAF 30K+ · 4.9★ (107)
wp.org #20 ↓3 7 too low 14 
Lightbox & Modal Popup WordPress Plugin – FooBox 100K+ · 3.9★ (95)
wp.org #14 ↑1 15 
Image Gallery 3K+ · 4.4★ (32)
wp.org #11 ↓1 4 too high 16 
Product Gallery Slider, Additional Variation Images, Product Video, Product Image Zoom and Lightbox for WooCommerce – Reno Product Gallery (formerly WooGallery) 20K+ · 4.9★ (162) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #16 ↑2 17 
Image Hotspot – Map Image Annotation 3K+ · 4.9★ (22) thin reviews
wp.org #13 4 too high 18 
Image Gallery Block 4K+ · 4.2★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #15 ↑1 3 too high 19 
Before After Image 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #19 ↑2 20 
Image Gallery Block – Showcase Photos in Stunning Responsive Grids 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #17 ↑2 3 too high 21 
Advanced Image Comparison for Elementor 1K+ · 4.5★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #22 1 too low 22 
WP Before After Image Slider – Interactive Image and Video Comparison Plugin for WordPress 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #23 1 too low 23 
Image Protection 200+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Secondary Product Image for WooCommerce 2K+ · 3.5★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↑2 6 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.