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

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 posts”, we agree with wp.org 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

Masonry Gallery & Posts For Divi (WP Tools) shows at wp.org #4 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 17 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 #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 1680 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. 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 Photoswipe Masonry 6K+ · 4.5★ (46) wp.org #2 3 Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616) wp.org #8 5 too low 4 Category Posts Block 40K+ · 4.5★ (79) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Photo Gallery by Supsystic – Image Gallery, Masonry, Albums & Lightbox 20K+ · 4.6★ (498) wp.org #9 4 too low 6 Post Grid 30K+ · 4.3★ (163) wp.org #10 4 too low 7 The Post Grid – Shortcode, Gutenberg Blocks and Elementor Addon for Post Grid 100K+ · 4.8★ (265) wp.org #13 6 too low 8 Blog Designer Pack – Blog, Post Grid, Post Slider, Post Carousel, Category Post, News 30K+ · 4.7★ (79) wp.org #11 3 too low 9 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #20 ↓2 11 too low 10 Category AJAX Filter – Posts, Custom Post Types & Product Filter 6K+ · 4.9★ (158) wp.org #14 4 too low 11 Robo Gallery – Photo & Image Slider 40K+ · 4.3★ (406) wp.org #17 6 too low 12 The Plus Addons for Elementor – Mega Menu, Header Footer, Post Grid, AI Widgets & Templates 100K+ · 4.6★ (388) wp.org #21 9 too low 13 Blog Filter – Post Grid Filter by Category or Tag 7K+ · 4.9★ (81) wp.org #16 3 too low 14 CTC Masonry Gallery 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #3 11 too high 15 WP Blog Post Layouts 9K+ · 4.7★ (83) wp.org #18 ↑1 3 too low 16 WP Masonry & Infinite Scroll 200+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #6 10 too high 17 Masonry Image Gallery Block 1K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #7 10 too high 18 Magical Posts Display – Elementor Advanced Posts widgets 3K+ · 4.4★ (10) wp.org #12 6 too high 19 Display Post Types – Post Grid, post list and post sliders 8K+ · 5.0★ (26) wp.org #22 3 too low 20 Advanced Post Block – Display Your Posts Exactly How You Want 10K+ · 4.2★ (17) wp.org #19 ↑1 1 too high 21 Masonry Gallery & Posts For Divi (WP Tools) 700+ · 2.8★ (5) wp.org #4 17 too high 22 Photo Gallery Slideshow & Masonry Tiled Gallery 1K+ · 3.9★ (8) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 GS Posts Grid – Recent Posts, Category Posts, Post Filter, Slider & List 100+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Elfi Masonry – Filterable Portfolio & Masonry Gallery Addon for Elementor 200+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #15 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.