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

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 “matt”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Futurio Extra shows at wp.org #6 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 10K+ 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

Dark Mode – Improve Accessibility with AI Powered Dark Theme places #10 on merit, 4.5★ from 391 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 signals wp.org

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #1 2

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221) wp.org #4 2 too low 3

Public Post Preview 100K+ · 4.6★ (79) wp.org #2 1 too high 4

Easy Digital Downloads – eCommerce Payments and Subscriptions made easy 40K+ · 4.7★ (591) wp.org #7 3 too low 5

bbPress 100K+ · 3.9★ (343) wp.org #5 6 H HTTP 410 (Gone) responses 4K+ · 4.6★ (21) thin reviews wp.org #3 3 too high 7

Analytify – Google Analytics 4 Tracking and Reporting in WordPress 20K+ · 4.7★ (488) wp.org #10 3 too low 8

SQLite Object Cache 10K+ · 5.0★ (51) wp.org #8 9

Hello Dolly 500K+ · 4.4★ (177) wp.org #9 10

Dark Mode – Improve Accessibility with AI Powered Dark Theme 20K+ · 4.5★ (391) wp.org #24 14 too low 11

Insights from Google PageSpeed 10K+ · 4.8★ (28) not PHP-current wp.org #11 12

Sky Login Redirect 2K+ · 4.7★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #16 4 too low 13

Send Emails with Mandrill 6K+ · 5.0★ (11) thin reviews wp.org #13 14

Reorder Posts – Quick Post Type and Page Ordering 10K+ · 3.9★ (28) wp.org #14 15

Protect the Children! 1K+ · 4.9★ (15) thin reviews wp.org #21 6 too low 16

Pay For Post with WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.7★ (53) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #23 7 too low 17

Rife Extensions & Templates for Elementor 20K+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #12 5 too high 18

Reorder by Term 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #20 2 too low 19

Expire User Passwords 3K+ · 4.2★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #15 4 too high 20

Futurio Extra 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #6 14 too high 21

WP Voting Contest Lite 400+ · 3.1★ (15) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #17 4 too high 22

Attesa Extra 1K+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #22 23

Pretty RSS Feeds 30+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #18 5 too high 24

Reorder Terms 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #19 5 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.