Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “mass”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 5 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

Global Body Mass Index Calculator shows at wp.org #8 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 30+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

AcyMailing – An Ultimate Newsletter Plugin and Marketing Automation Solution for WordPress places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 157 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Mass Pages/Posts Creator 1K+ · 4.2★ (17) wp.org #1 ↑2 2 Bulk Page Generator and Mass Page Builder – Page Generator 3K+ · 4.6★ (70) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157) wp.org #6 ↑3 3 too low 4 MASS Users Password Reset 500+ · 4.0★ (14) wp.org #2 ↓1 2 too high 5 Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots 10K+ · 4.8★ (142) wp.org #9 ↑1 4 too low 6 Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528) wp.org #16 ↓5 10 too low 7 WP Bulk Delete 90K+ · 4.6★ (131) wp.org #14 ↑2 7 too low 8 AcyMailing – An Ultimate Newsletter Plugin and Marketing Automation Solution for WordPress 5K+ · 4.8★ (157) wp.org #19 ↑2 11 too low 9 Bulk Page Generator – LPagery 3K+ · 5.0★ (31) wp.org #15 6 too low 10 Mass Email To Users 800+ · 3.1★ (8) wp.org #3 ↓1 7 too high 11 MPG – Multiple Page Generator, Bulk Landing Pages & Programmatic SEO 2K+ · 3.9★ (27) wp.org #10 ↓2 1 too high 12 WP Calorie Calculator 900+ · 4.7★ (12) wp.org #12 13 Responsive Filterable Portfolio Gallery – Media Grid & Video Portfolio 1K+ · 4.6★ (18) wp.org #18 ↑2 5 too low 14 Vertical Image Slider – Responsive Thumbnail Slider with Lightbox 1K+ · 4.9★ (7) wp.org #13 ↑1 1 too high 15 Mass Ping Tool for SEO – WordPress ping list to get indexed faster on Google, Yandex, … 400+ · 3.0★ (4) wp.org #5 10 too high 16 Thumbnail Slider With Lightbox 700+ · 3.8★ (11) wp.org #20 ↑2 4 too low 17 Email Subscription Popup — Newsletter & GDPR Consent 1K+ · 3.8★ (11) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 Role Based Pricing for Woo by Meow Crew 2K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #11 ↑2 7 too high 19 Klaviyo 100K+ · 2.8★ (24) wp.org #22 3 too low 20 Mass Resizer 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 ↓1 13 too high 21 CC BMI Calculator 700+ · 3.3★ (4) wp.org #17 4 too high 22 Bulk Edit Post Title – Mass Rename, Bulk Find & Replace for WordPress Posts, Pages and Products 60+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 Global Body Mass Index Calculator 30+ · 3.0★ (3) wp.org #8 ↓1 15 too high 24 AI Agent by SiteGround 1M+ · 1.7★ (98) wp.org #21 3 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.