wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “install app”

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 “install app”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 6 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

Mobile Smart App Banner shows at wp.org #5 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 300+ 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

Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 7519 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Auto-Install Free SSL – Generate & Install Free SSL Certificates 8K+ · 4.9★ (405) wp.org #1 2

Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528) wp.org #2 3

Social Chat – Click To Chat App Button 200K+ · 4.9★ (696) not PHP-current wp.org #7 ↑2 4 too low 4

Super Progressive Web Apps 40K+ · 4.6★ (225) wp.org #8 ↓1 4 too low 5

CF7 Apps – Addons for Contact Form 7 (Honeypot, Database, Redirection, Webhook, etc.) 300K+ · 3.8★ (135) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #3 2 too high 6

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint wp.org #9 ↓1 3 too low 7

AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874) wp.org #13 ↑6 6 too low 8

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #10 2 too low 9

PWA for WP – Progressive Web Apps Made Simple 10K+ · 4.6★ (230) wp.org #14 ↓1 5 too low 10

Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #20 ↓8 10 too low 11

WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #11 ↓1 12

Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #22 10 too low 13

WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway 700K+ · 3.1★ (237) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #6 7 too high 14

FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410) wp.org #24 ↓2 9 too low 16

WPMobile.App – Android and iOS App Builder 3K+ · 4.8★ (162) not PHP-current wp.org #19 ↓1 3 too low 17

App Builder – Create Native Android & iOS Apps On The Flight 500+ · 3.9★ (8) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #4 13 too high 18

AppMySite – WordPress & WooCommerce Mobile App Builder (No-Code Android & iOS App Maker) 7K+ · 4.3★ (138) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #18 ↓1 19

WappPress – Convert Site to App Fast – WordPress to Mobile App Builder 1K+ · 3.6★ (39) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #12 ↓1 7 too high 20

WooPayments: Integrated WooCommerce Payments 800K+ · 3.4★ (177) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #15 5 too high 21

Mobile Smart App Banner 300+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #5 16 too high 22

Hippoo Mobile App for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.9★ (7) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #23 ↓2 1 too low 23

Management App for WooCommerce – Order notifications, Order management, Lead management, Uptime Monitoring 800+ · 4.0★ (9) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #16 7 too high 24

Mobile App Canvas – Convert your Website Into an App for iOS and Android 200+ · 4.2★ (5) 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.