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

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 “memory”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 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

Memory Limit Manager shows at wp.org #7 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 600+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets places #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 4132 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 WP-Memory-Usage 10K+ · 4.5★ (21) wp.org #1 2 Server IP & Memory Usage Display 20K+ · 4.9★ (40) wp.org #2 3 W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too low 4 WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470) wp.org #6 ↑1 2 too low 5 All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676) wp.org #8 ↑3 3 too low 6 Max Mega Menu 300K+ · 4.8★ (882) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874) wp.org #12 ↑11 5 too low 8 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #19 ↓1 11 too low 9 EasyMedia – Increase Media Upload File Size | Role-Based Upload Limit | Increase Execution Time 70K+ · 4.9★ (99) wp.org #17 ↓3 8 too low 10 Docket Cache – Object Cache Accelerator 20K+ · 4.9★ (50) wp.org #15 5 too low 11 Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641) wp.org #21 ↓3 10 too low 12 Debug Log Manager – Conveniently Monitor and Inspect Errors 10K+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #23 ↓2 11 too low 13 WP OPcache 10K+ · 4.8★ (20) wp.org #20 ↓4 7 too low 14 Hosting Benchmark tool 4K+ · 4.7★ (33) wp.org #22 ↓2 8 too low 15 Meta for WooCommerce 400K+ · 2.1★ (481) wp.org #11 ↓3 4 too high 16 Personal Dictionary – Vocabulary Games, Memory Games 70+ · 4.8★ (8) wp.org #14 2 too high 17 Plugin Memory Usage 600+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 14 too high 18 Page Visits Counter – Lite 5K+ · 4.0★ (7) wp.org #13 ↓1 5 too high 19 Memory Meter 600+ · 3.3★ (4) wp.org #5 ↓1 14 too high 20 APCu Manager 10K+ · 4.6★ (20) wp.org #24 ↓1 4 too low 21 MyServerInfo – Memory Usage, PHP Version, Memory Limit, Execution Time, CPU Usage, Disk Usage 800+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 11 too high 22 Memory Limit Manager 600+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 ↓1 15 too high 23 Aruba HiSpeed Cache 100K+ · 3.0★ (10) wp.org #16 7 too high 24 IGW Memory & Under Construction 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↓1 6 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.