wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “list updated 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 “list updated posts”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

Recently Updated Pages and Posts shows at wp.org #4 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 18 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 27820 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

1 P Page-list 30K+ · 4.7★ (89) wp.org #1 2

Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296) wp.org #2 3

Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails 100K+ · 4.8★ (215) wp.org #3 ↑1 4

Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276) wp.org #5 ↑17 1 too low 5

Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7520) wp.org #10 ↓1 5 too low 6 P Posts 2 Posts 9K+ · 4.8★ (101) wp.org #6 7

Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588) wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too low 9

W4 Post List 3K+ · 4.7★ (94) wp.org #7 ↓4 2 too high 10

Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #17 ↓2 7 too low 11

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27820) wp.org #22 ↓1 11 too low 12

Category Posts Block 40K+ · 4.5★ (79) wp.org #11 ↓1 1 too high 13

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #15 1 too low 15

Delete Duplicate Posts 10K+ · 4.8★ (153) wp.org #19 ↓2 4 too low 16

Ultimate Post List 2K+ · 4.6★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #12 5 too high 18

Flex Posts – Responsive Posts Block 2K+ · 5.0★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #23 ↓3 5 too low 19

Hide Posts 20K+ · 4.7★ (22) thin reviews wp.org #24 ↓5 5 too low 20

Post List Designer – Category Post, Recent Post, Post List 1K+ · 4.5★ (8) thin reviews wp.org #13 7 too high 21

Unlist Posts & Pages 10K+ · 4.7★ (15) thin reviews wp.org #21 ↓3 22 R Recently Updated Pages and Posts 100+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #4 ↑1 18 too high 23

Icon List Block – Add Icon-Based Lists with Custom Styles 4K+ · 3.7★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #16 ↓5 7 too high 24

Latest Posts Block – Dynamic Posts Grid, Posts List, Posts Tile with Stunning Layouts for WordPress Blogs & Pages 6K+ · 4.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #20 4 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.