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← Rankings

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

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 “measuring”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

Affiliatly shows at wp.org #4 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 300+ 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

Advanced WordPress Reset – Debug, Recover & Reset WP places #6 on merit, 4.9★ from 1233 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Visual CSS Style Editor 30K+ · 4.1★ (90) wp.org #1 2 GTM Kit – Google Tag Manager & GA4 integration 30K+ · 4.8★ (20) wp.org #2 3 Disqus Comment System 30K+ · 2.7★ (219) wp.org #3 ↑1 4 MWB HubSpot for WooCommerce – CRM, Abandoned Cart, Email Marketing, Marketing Automation & Analytics 6K+ · 3.8★ (55) wp.org #5 ↑2 1 too low 5 Plausible Analytics 10K+ · 5.0★ (29) wp.org #7 ↑2 2 too low 6 Advanced WordPress Reset – Debug, Recover & Reset WP 10K+ · 4.9★ (1233) wp.org #17 ↑3 11 too low 7 GetGenie – AI SEO Assistant & Content Writer with Keyword Research, AEO & GEO 70K+ · 4.8★ (119) wp.org #11 ↑1 4 too low 8 Conversios – GA4, Google Ads & Meta Conversion Tracking with Product Feed for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.3★ (206) wp.org #9 ↑1 1 too low 9 AMP 300K+ · 3.8★ (367) wp.org #18 9 too low 10 Admiral Adblock Analytics 300+ · 3.5★ (12) wp.org #6 ↓1 4 too high 11 Super Monitoring 50+ · 4.4★ (9) wp.org #8 3 too high 12 Cincopa video and media plug-in 1K+ · 2.8★ (26) wp.org #12 ↑1 13 Instaread Audio Player — Text-to-Speech & Article-to-Audio 90+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #14 ↑3 1 too low 14 Affiliatly 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 ↑2 10 too high 15 Whello CS Rotator 30+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 4 too low 16 Speed Analyzer – Speed Test & Performance Audit 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 ↑1 4 too low 17 WPCacheOn – WordPress Caching plugin 50+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 Footer Contacts D 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 ↑1 3 too low 19 Rankology SEO and Analytics Tool 300+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 ↑1 9 too high 20 EnvíaYa: Ship with all carriers (Rating, Booking and Tracking) 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 ↑1 7 too high 21 Calculate Page Execution Time 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 6 too high 22 MySQL query cache stats 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↑1 1 too low 23 PayCall Multisend SMS & TTS Support 66 languages 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 ↑1 1 too high 24 HR Performance 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 8 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.