Plugin Pulse
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “mainwp child”

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 “mainwp child”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 16 of the top 20. 2 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

MainWP Post SMTP Extension – Easily Manage WP SMTP Setup for All Sites in One Place shows at wp.org #9 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 400+ 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

BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin places #7 on merit, 4.0★ from 1321 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 MainWP Dashboard: Self-hosted WordPress Management for Agencies 20K+ · 4.9★ (2350) wp.org #3 2 too low 2 MainWP Child – Securely Connects to the MainWP Dashboard to Manage Multiple Sites 700K+ · 5.0★ (70) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 WPvivid — Backup, Migration & Staging 900K+ · 4.9★ (1549) wp.org #7 4 too low 4 MainWP Child Reports 100K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 WPvivid Backup for MainWP 10K+ · 4.6★ (9) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Security Ninja – WordPress Security & Firewall 7K+ · 4.7★ (100) wp.org #12 6 too low 7 BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1321) wp.org #24 17 too low 8 MainWP Key Maker 4K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #5 3 too high 9 Atarim – AI Agency for WordPress: Edit Pages, Fix Code, Update Plugins, SEO & Client Feedback 1K+ · 4.9★ (126) wp.org #23 ↓1 14 too low 10 WP Compress for MainWP 500+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #6 4 too high 11 Intranet & Private Site – All-In-One Intranet 3K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #17 6 too low 12 FluentAuth – Login Security, Two-Factor Authentication, Passkeys & Social Login 10K+ · 4.1★ (31) wp.org #21 9 too low 13 WebChange Detector: Visual Regression Testing & Visual Checks After Updates 200+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #20 7 too low 14 Security Ninja For MainWP 600+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 6 too high 15 Update Brief for MainWP 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 4 too high 16 MainWP Post SMTP Extension – Easily Manage WP SMTP Setup for All Sites in One Place 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 7 too high 17 Site Lockdown Security for MainWP 70+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 7 too high 18 Burst MainWP 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 5 too high 19 SEOPress for MainWP 900+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 5 too high 20 WebChange Detector for MainWP 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 5 too high 21 Mad Cow Owner Update Notifications for MainWP 80+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 5 too high 22 Independent Analytics for MainWP 800+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 4 too high 23 Destino Access Audit 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 4 too high 24 Samadhan URL Index Checker — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓1 2 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.