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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “masonry”

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 “masonry”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

Masonry Gallery & Posts For Divi (WP Tools) shows at wp.org #8 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 700+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.8★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 1680 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 FooGallery Photo Gallery : Image, Video & Masonry Galleries 100K+ · 4.8★ (995) wp.org #1 2 Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616) wp.org #4 ↓1 2 too low 3 Photoswipe Masonry 6K+ · 4.5★ (46) wp.org #2 ↑8 1 too high 4 Photo Gallery by Supsystic – Image Gallery, Masonry, Albums & Lightbox 20K+ · 4.6★ (498) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Robo Gallery – Photo & Image Slider 40K+ · 4.3★ (406) wp.org #9 ↑5 4 too low 6 Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery 300K+ · 4.3★ (4342) wp.org #16 ↓1 10 too low 7 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #21 ↓2 14 too low 8 Product Slider, Product Grid, Product Masonry 9K+ · 4.3★ (86) wp.org #10 ↓2 2 too low 9 Easy Social Feed – All In One Social Feed Plugin for WordPress 30K+ · 4.6★ (502) wp.org #20 11 too low 10 Meow Gallery 10K+ · 4.9★ (203) wp.org #19 ↓3 9 too low 11 Social Feed Gallery 80K+ · 4.5★ (303) wp.org #18 7 too low 12 Gallery by Visual Portfolio 60K+ · 4.8★ (340) wp.org #23 ↓7 11 too low 13 YMC Filter 4K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #12 ↓7 1 too high 14 CTC Masonry Gallery 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #3 ↓1 11 too high 15 Blog Filter – Post Grid Filter by Category or Tag 7K+ · 4.9★ (81) wp.org #22 ↓1 7 too low 16 Photo Gallery – GT3 Image Gallery & Gutenberg Block Gallery 10K+ · 4.8★ (147) wp.org #24 ↓2 8 too low 17 Masonry Image Gallery Block 1K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #6 ↓2 11 too high 18 GS Pinterest Portfolio – Pins Grid, Masonry, User Profile, Popup & Board Widgets 1K+ · 4.8★ (47) wp.org #17 ↓2 1 too high 19 WP Masonry & Infinite Scroll 200+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #7 ↓1 12 too high 20 Gallery Block by Galleryberg: Lightbox with Tiles, Masonry, Square, & Justified Layouts 2K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #14 ↓2 6 too high 21 Photo Gallery Slideshow & Masonry Tiled Gallery 1K+ · 3.9★ (8) wp.org #11 ↓2 10 too high 22 Masonry Gallery & Posts For Divi (WP Tools) 700+ · 2.8★ (5) wp.org #8 ↓2 14 too high 23 CT Divi ACF Masonry Gallery 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 8 too high 24 Elfi Masonry – Filterable Portfolio & Masonry Gallery Addon for Elementor 200+ · 3.0★ (2) 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.