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← Rankings

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

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

Plugin Memory Usage shows at wp.org #3 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 17 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

Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 4132 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 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 #7 ↑4 4 too low 4 Disk Usage Sunburst 9K+ · 4.8★ (36) wp.org #4 5 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #8 ↑1 3 too low 6 AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874) wp.org #11 ↑4 5 too low 7 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #9 ↓1 2 too low 8 WP Server Health Stats 9K+ · 4.8★ (110) wp.org #12 4 too low 9 WP Visitor Statistics (Real Time Traffic) 20K+ · 4.5★ (156) wp.org #13 4 too low 10 Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296) wp.org #15 ↓2 5 too low 11 Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641) wp.org #16 ↑2 5 too low 12 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #24 12 too low 13 Docket Cache – Object Cache Accelerator 20K+ · 4.9★ (50) wp.org #18 5 too low 14 SlimStat Analytics – Real-Time Stats, Heatmaps & Ecommerce 70K+ · 4.8★ (816) wp.org #20 ↑2 6 too low 15 EasyMedia – Increase Media Upload File Size | Role-Based Upload Limit | Increase Execution Time 70K+ · 4.9★ (99) wp.org #23 8 too low 16 Product Feed Manager for WooCommerce – CTX Feed – Support 220+ Shopping, AI & Social Channels 90K+ · 4.6★ (838) wp.org #21 ↓1 5 too low 17 Hosting Benchmark tool 4K+ · 4.7★ (33) wp.org #14 ↑2 3 too high 18 UsageDD 1K+ · 4.8★ (19) wp.org #19 1 too low 19 MyServerInfo – Memory Usage, PHP Version, Memory Limit, Execution Time, CPU Usage, Disk Usage 800+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 ↑1 13 too high 20 Plugin Memory Usage 600+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 17 too high 21 Memory Meter 600+ · 3.3★ (4) wp.org #5 ↑1 16 too high 22 LWS Tools 10K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #17 ↑1 5 too high 23 IGW Memory & Under Construction 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 13 too high 24 MySQL version display 300+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓1 2 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.