wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “love”
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 “love”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 4 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
Love Me shows at wp.org #3 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 14387 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #1 2 
Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) heavy footprint
wp.org #2 ↑1 3 
TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625)
wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too low 4 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 
Page Builder by SiteOrigin 400K+ · 4.8★ (1005)
wp.org #7 ↑1 2 too low 6 
Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #6 ↑1 7 
Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869)
wp.org #11 ↑5 4 too low 8 
Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528)
wp.org #12 ↑3 4 too low 9 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #15 ↓2 6 too low 10 
BuddyPress 90K+ · 4.1★ (375)
wp.org #10 11 
Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) heavy footprint
wp.org #9 ↑12 2 too high 12 
GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #8 ↓2 4 too high 13 
Booking for Appointments and Events Calendar – Amelia 90K+ · 4.6★ (793)
wp.org #14 1 too low 14 Love Me 200+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #3 ↓1 11 too high 15 
All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676)
wp.org #19 4 too low 16 
Beaver Builder Page Builder – Drag and Drop Website Builder 100K+ · 4.7★ (394)
wp.org #18 ↑6 2 too low 17 
Slider, Gallery, and Carousel by MetaSlider – Image Slider, Video Slider 500K+ · 4.6★ (743)
wp.org #21 ↑2 4 too low 18 
Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418)
wp.org #24 6 too low 19 
WP ULike – Like Buttons, Voting & Engagement Analytics 60K+ · 4.8★ (283)
wp.org #22 ↓10 3 too low 20 
MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #17 ↓8 3 too high 21 
I Recommend This – Love/Like Button for WordPress Posts 4K+ · 4.7★ (38)
wp.org #23 ↓5 2 too low 22 
Breeze Cache 300K+ · 3.6★ (133)
wp.org #20 2 too high 23 
Video Player for YouTube – Embed Videos Your Visitors Will Love to Watch 1K+ · 4.8★ (12) not PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↓2 7 too high 24 
Love Button 50+ · 4.0★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #13 ↓2 11 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.