wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “long menu”
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 “long menu”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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
Groovy Menu Plugin (Free) shows at wp.org #5 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 4K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.6★ average from 25 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 2528 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.
Admin Menu Editor 300K+ · 4.6★ (312)
wp.org #1 2 
Max Mega Menu 300K+ · 4.8★ (882)
wp.org #2 3 
Float menu – awesome floating side menu 30K+ · 4.4★ (41)
wp.org #3 4 
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132)
wp.org #7 3 too low 5 
Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680)
wp.org #8 3 too low 6 
QuadMenu – Mega Menu 10K+ · 4.5★ (270)
wp.org #6 7 
WPB Accordion Menu – Collapsible Vertical Sidebar Responsive Mobile Menu – WooCommerce Category Accordion 10K+ · 4.4★ (54)
wp.org #4 3 too high 8 
Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667)
wp.org #11 3 too low 9 
Master Addons for Elementor – Elementor Addons, Widgets, Mega Menu Builder, Popup Builder, Widget Builder & Template Kits 30K+ · 4.5★ (212)
wp.org #9 10 
Orbit Fox: Duplicate Page, Menu Icons, SVG Support, Cookie Notice, Custom Fonts & More 100K+ · 4.8★ (317)
wp.org #12 2 too low 11 
Table of Contents Plus – Automatic Table of Contents for Posts & Pages 200K+ · 4.5★ (187)
wp.org #10 1 too high 12 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528)
wp.org #16 ↑3 4 too low 13 
Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1526)
wp.org #23 10 too low 14 
Classic Editor 8M+ · 4.9★ (1251)
wp.org #17 ↓2 3 too low 15 Groovy Menu Plugin (Free) 4K+ · 3.6★ (25)
wp.org #5 10 too high 16 
WPCafe – Restaurant Menu, Online Food Ordering & Table Booking System 5K+ · 4.6★ (113)
wp.org #13 ↓2 3 too high 17 
Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588)
wp.org #20 ↓2 3 too low 18 
Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167)
wp.org #18 ↓1 19 
All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720)
wp.org #22 ↑1 3 too low 20 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #19 1 too high 21 
Index WP MySQL For Speed 50K+ · 4.8★ (99)
wp.org #21 ↑1 22 
Giuliomax Menu Builder 20+ · 5.0★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #24 ↓3 2 too low 23 
Flavor – Restaurant Menu & Table Reservations 100+ · 4.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #14 ↓1 9 too high 24 
Maestro: The Inline Admin Menu Editor 30+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #15 ↑1 9 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.