wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “installed”
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 “installed”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20. 3 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
Hide Categories and Products for Woocommerce shows at wp.org #13 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.1★ average from 29 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Customer Reviews for WooCommerce places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 1539 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778)
wp.org #1 2 
UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706)
wp.org #3 1 too low 3 
Joinchat – Enhanced “click to chat” 700K+ · 4.7★ (189)
wp.org #2 1 too high 4 
WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346)
wp.org #4 5 
Media Library Assistant 70K+ · 4.8★ (202)
wp.org #6 ↑8 1 too low 6 
Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397)
wp.org #7 ↑2 1 too low 7 
ReCaptcha v2 for Contact Form 7 200K+ · 5.0★ (89)
wp.org #8 ↓2 1 too low 8 Customer Reviews for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (1539)
wp.org #16 ↓5 8 too low 9 
Plugins List 700+ · 5.0★ (12) thin reviews
wp.org #5 4 too high 10 
Jetpack Protect 100K+ · 4.6★ (123)
wp.org #12 ↑3 2 too low 11 
Admin Menu Editor 300K+ · 4.6★ (312)
wp.org #15 ↓3 4 too low 12 
Child Theme Wizard 10K+ · 4.9★ (36)
wp.org #10 ↓2 2 too high 13 
WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (195)
wp.org #17 ↑4 4 too low 14 
Sucuri Security – Auditing, Malware Scanner and Security Hardening 600K+ · 4.2★ (386) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #9 ↓2 5 too high 15 
Activity Log – Monitor User and Agent Changes 200K+ · 4.3★ (74)
wp.org #11 ↑6 4 too high 16 
Blocks Animation: CSS Animations for Gutenberg Blocks 90K+ · 4.8★ (73)
wp.org #14 ↓1 2 too high 17 
Make Column Clickable for Elementor 100K+ · 4.9★ (53)
wp.org #19 2 too low 18 
UPI QR Code Payment Gateway for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.8★ (256) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #22 4 too low 19 
Breeze Cache 300K+ · 3.6★ (133)
wp.org #18 ↑1 1 too high 20 
Download Plugins and Themes in ZIP from Dashboard 30K+ · 4.9★ (27)
wp.org #20 ↓4 21 
Performance Lab 100K+ · 4.3★ (51)
wp.org #23 2 too low 22 Hide Categories and Products for Woocommerce 10K+ · 4.1★ (29) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #13 ↓3 9 too high 23 
Plugin Report 1K+ · 5.0★ (15) thin reviews
wp.org #24 1 too low 24 
SiteGuard WP Plugin 600K+ · 4.3★ (15) throws errorsnot PHP-currenthost-installed base thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↓3 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.