wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “level”
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 “level”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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
WooCommerce PayPal Payments shows at wp.org #8 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 800K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.9★ average from 583 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint
wp.org #1 2 
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821)
wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too low 3 
LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778)
wp.org #5 2 too low 4 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143)
wp.org #6 ↑1 2 too low 5 
The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461)
wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too low 6 
Popup builder with Gamification, Multi-Step Popups, Page-Level Targeting, and WooCommerce Triggers 70K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #2 4 too high 7 
Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517)
wp.org #10 ↑2 3 too low 8 
Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962)
wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too low 9 
Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992)
wp.org #12 ↓1 3 too low 10 
FV Top Level Categories 20K+ · 4.4★ (23) thin reviews
wp.org #4 ↓1 6 too high 11 
Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) heavy footprint
wp.org #9 ↑10 2 too high 12 
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281)
wp.org #15 ↓7 3 too low 13 
Simple Membership 40K+ · 4.6★ (475) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #13 ↑2 14 
Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641)
wp.org #14 ↓1 15 
FooGallery Photo Gallery : Image, Video & Masonry Galleries 100K+ · 4.8★ (995) not PHP-current
wp.org #20 ↓3 5 too low 16 
Converter for Media – Optimize images | Convert WebP & AVIF 500K+ · 4.9★ (1106)
wp.org #24 8 too low 17 
Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186)
wp.org #19 2 too low 18 
bbPress 100K+ · 3.9★ (343)
wp.org #16 2 too high 19 
Click to Chat – HoliThemes 600K+ · 4.8★ (131)
wp.org #18 1 too high 20 
Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #21 ↓1 1 too low 21 
Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276)
wp.org #22 1 too low 22 WooCommerce PayPal Payments 800K+ · 2.9★ (583) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #8 ↑1 14 too high 23 
Breeze Cache 300K+ · 3.6★ (133)
wp.org #17 ↓3 6 too high 24 
GHL Contact Form 7 Bridge – Send Contact Form 7 leads to GHL CRM 400+ · 5.0★ (1) not PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #23 ↓2 1 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.