wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “memories”
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 “memories”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20.
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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.
Ranked above its merit
Plugin Memory Usage shows at wp.org #4 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 18 places. Its 600+ 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
WP Visitor Statistics (Real Time Traffic) places #11 on merit, 4.5★ from 156 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.
W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420)
wp.org #1 2 
WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470)
wp.org #5 3 too low 3 
WP-Memory-Usage 10K+ · 4.5★ (21) thin reviews
wp.org #2 1 too high 4 
Server IP & Memory Usage Display 20K+ · 4.9★ (40)
wp.org #3 1 too high 5 
All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676)
wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too low 6 
AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874)
wp.org #8 ↑5 2 too low 7 
Max Mega Menu 300K+ · 4.8★ (882)
wp.org #9 ↓1 2 too low 8 
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132)
wp.org #15 ↑2 7 too low 9 
EasyMedia – Increase Media Upload File Size | Role-Based Upload Limit | Increase Execution Time 70K+ · 4.9★ (99)
wp.org #14 ↓2 5 too low 10 
Docket Cache – Object Cache Accelerator 20K+ · 4.9★ (50)
wp.org #12 ↑3 2 too low 11 WP Visitor Statistics (Real Time Traffic) 20K+ · 4.5★ (156)
wp.org #24 ↓1 13 too low 12 
Interactive Content – H5P 40K+ · 4.8★ (61)
wp.org #21 ↑1 9 too low 13 
Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641)
wp.org #22 ↓6 9 too low 14 
Debug Log Manager – Conveniently Monitor and Inspect Errors 10K+ · 5.0★ (25)
wp.org #19 5 too low 15 
WP OPcache 10K+ · 4.8★ (20) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↓2 1 too low 16 
Meta for WooCommerce 400K+ · 2.1★ (481)
wp.org #10 ↓1 6 too high 17 
Hosting Benchmark tool 4K+ · 4.7★ (33)
wp.org #18 ↑2 1 too low 18 
APCu Manager 10K+ · 4.6★ (20) thin reviews
wp.org #20 ↑1 2 too low 19 
Version Info – Server Health Monitor, PHP & MySQL Version Display, Environment Indicators 10K+ · 5.0★ (15) thin reviews
wp.org #23 ↑1 4 too low 20 
Page Visits Counter – Lite 5K+ · 4.0★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #11 ↓1 9 too high 21 
Aruba HiSpeed Cache 100K+ · 3.0★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #13 ↓2 8 too high 22 Plugin Memory Usage 600+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #4 18 too high 23 
Memory Meter 600+ · 3.3★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #7 ↓1 16 too high 24 
MyServerInfo – Memory Usage, PHP Version, Memory Limit, Execution Time, CPU Usage, Disk Usage 800+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #17 ↑1 7 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.