wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “keep”
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 “keep”, we agree with wp.org 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
Keep Emoticons as Text shows at wp.org #2 but places #8 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 700+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 8 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder places #3 on merit, 4.9★ from 4514 reviews, but shows at wp.org #7. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833)
wp.org #1 2 
Polylang 900K+ · 4.7★ (3004)
wp.org #5 ↑2 3 too low 3 Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder 600K+ · 4.9★ (4514)
wp.org #7 ↑1 4 too low 4 
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5040)
wp.org #6 2 too low 5 
Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012)
wp.org #4 1 too high 6 
Keep Backup Daily 200+ · 4.4★ (45)
wp.org #3 ↑2 3 too high 7 
Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7520)
wp.org #8 ↑2 1 too low 8 Keep Emoticons as Text 700+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #2 6 too high 9 
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821)
wp.org #11 ↑1 2 too low 10 
LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778)
wp.org #10 ↑4 11 
PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322)
wp.org #12 ↓3 1 too low 12 
Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940)
wp.org #13 ↓2 1 too low 13 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #9 ↓6 4 too high 14 
All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231)
wp.org #14 ↓1 15 
Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667)
wp.org #16 ↑6 1 too low 16 
BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323)
wp.org #15 1 too high 17 
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281)
wp.org #23 6 too low 18 
Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN 1M+ · 4.8★ (6053)
wp.org #24 ↓1 6 too low 19 
All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720)
wp.org #21 2 too low 20 
GSheetConnector – CF7 Google Sheets Connector & Save CF7 Entries to Database 40K+ · 4.4★ (129)
wp.org #20 21 
Link Juice Keeper 10K+ · 4.7★ (15) thin reviews
wp.org #17 4 too high 22 
Easy Feeds for X/Twitter – keep your site fresh with live social posts 1K+ · 3.9★ (11) thin reviews
wp.org #19 ↑1 3 too high 23 
Feeds for TikTok – Keep Your Site Fresh with Your Latest Videos 1K+ · 3.7★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↑1 5 too high 24 
Recent Products Block – keep shoppers up to date on new arrivals 600+ · 3.7★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #22 ↑2 2 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.