wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “maintain”
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 “maintain”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 7 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 Stripe Payment Gateway shows at wp.org #4 but places #11 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 700K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.1★ average from 237 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin places #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 1281 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Contact Form 7 10M+ · 4.0★ (2186)
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 
WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #2 1 too high 4 
bbPress 100K+ · 3.9★ (343)
wp.org #5 1 too low 5 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #6 1 too low 6 
Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN 1M+ · 4.8★ (6053)
wp.org #9 ↑1 3 too low 7 
Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276)
wp.org #7 ↑6 8 Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281)
wp.org #13 ↓5 5 too low 9 
MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435) heavy footprint
wp.org #10 ↓3 1 too low 10 
Paid Membership Subscriptions – Effortless Memberships, Recurring Payments & Content Restriction 10K+ · 4.7★ (270)
wp.org #15 ↑2 5 too low 11 WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway 700K+ · 3.1★ (237) throws errorsnot PHP-current low rating, top placement
wp.org #4 ↓1 7 too high 12 
Sucuri Security – Auditing, Malware Scanner and Security Hardening 600K+ · 4.2★ (386) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #8 ↑3 4 too high 13 
Price Based on Country for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.8★ (262) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #11 ↑1 2 too high 14 
WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228)
wp.org #22 8 too low 15 
Disable Gutenberg 500K+ · 5.0★ (735)
wp.org #21 ↑3 6 too low 16 
WP Umbrella: Security Backup Restore & Monitoring 90K+ · 4.8★ (81)
wp.org #14 2 too high 17 
Shortcodes Ultimate – Content Elements 400K+ · 4.9★ (5925) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #20 ↓5 3 too low 18 
WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (195)
wp.org #23 5 too low 19 
Event Organiser 20K+ · 4.6★ (140) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #12 ↑4 7 too high 20 P Posts 2 Posts 9K+ · 4.8★ (101)
wp.org #19 ↑4 1 too high 21 
Robo Gallery – Photo & Image Slider 40K+ · 4.3★ (406)
wp.org #24 3 too low 22 
Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157)
wp.org #16 ↑2 6 too high 23 
Essential Real Estate 7K+ · 4.3★ (52) not PHP-current
wp.org #18 5 too high 24 
Restaurant Menu and Food Ordering 2K+ · 4.5★ (15) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #17 ↑3 7 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.