wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “last posts”

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 “last posts”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

Admin Dashboard Last Edits shows at wp.org #10 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 900+ 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

Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App places #11 on merit, 4.7★ from 528 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

When Last Login 40K+ · 4.7★ (37) wp.org #1 ↑2 2

Duplicate Post 300K+ · 4.9★ (1623) wp.org #3 ↓1 4

WP Last Modified Info 40K+ · 4.9★ (855) wp.org #5 1 too low 5

Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails 100K+ · 4.8★ (215) wp.org #4 1 too high 6

Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588) wp.org #9 3 too low 7

Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1526) wp.org #12 5 too low 8

Yoast Duplicate Post 3M+ · 4.7★ (538) wp.org #7 1 too high 9

Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1237) wp.org #13 ↑4 4 too low 10

Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528) wp.org #19 ↓5 8 too low 12 B bbp last post 200+ · 5.0★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #6 6 too high 13

Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #23 ↓1 10 too low 14

Classic Editor 8M+ · 4.9★ (1251) wp.org #22 ↑1 8 too low 15

Post Duplicator 200K+ · 4.8★ (80) wp.org #16 1 too low 16

List Last Changes 1K+ · 4.8★ (11) thin reviews wp.org #8 8 too high 17

Ultimate Post Kit – Elementor Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider & Blog Layout Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (58) wp.org #18 ↑1 1 too low 18

Category AJAX Filter – Posts, Custom Post Types & Product Filter 6K+ · 4.9★ (158) wp.org #24 6 too low 19

Last Modified Timestamp 6K+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #17 ↑1 2 too high 20

Dynamic Month & Year into Posts 8K+ · 5.0★ (18) thin reviews wp.org #14 ↓1 6 too high 21

Admin Dashboard Last Edits 900+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews wp.org #10 11 too high 22

Magical Posts Display – Elementor Advanced Posts widgets 3K+ · 4.4★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #15 7 too high 23

Republish Old Posts 2K+ · 4.3★ (12) thin reviews wp.org #20 3 too high 24

Auto Post Cleaner 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #21 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.