wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “menu active”
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 “menu active”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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
Ollie Menu Designer shows at wp.org #8 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 6K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 8 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.
Admin Menu Editor 300K+ · 4.6★ (312)
wp.org #1 ↑1 2 
Menu Icons by Themeisle – Add Icons to Navigation Menus 100K+ · 4.9★ (851)
wp.org #2 ↑2 3 
Max Mega Menu 300K+ · 4.8★ (882)
wp.org #3 ↓2 4 
Responsive Menu – Mobile Menu & Hamburger Menu Builder 70K+ · 4.5★ (576)
wp.org #5 ↓2 1 too low 5 
Online Active Users 2K+ · 4.7★ (51)
wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too high 6 
WP Menu Icons 20K+ · 4.9★ (139)
wp.org #9 3 too low 7 
WP Responsive Menu 30K+ · 4.3★ (100)
wp.org #7 ↓1 8 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132)
wp.org #19 ↓1 11 too low 9 
Next Active Directory Integration 2K+ · 4.8★ (16) thin reviews
wp.org #6 ↑1 3 too high 10 
Simple Floating Menu 10K+ · 5.0★ (38)
wp.org #11 1 too low 11 
QuadMenu – Mega Menu 10K+ · 4.5★ (270)
wp.org #17 ↓1 6 too low 12 
Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423)
wp.org #23 11 too low 13 
ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051)
wp.org #24 ↓1 11 too low 14 
WP Bottom Menu 20K+ · 4.5★ (23) thin reviews
wp.org #10 4 too high 15 
WPB Accordion Menu – Collapsible Vertical Sidebar Responsive Mobile Menu – WooCommerce Category Accordion 10K+ · 4.4★ (54)
wp.org #14 1 too high 16 
Food Menu – Restaurant Menu & Online Ordering for WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #13 3 too high 17 Ollie Menu Designer 6K+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #8 9 too high 18 
Category Posts in Custom Menu 2K+ · 4.8★ (43)
wp.org #20 ↓1 2 too low 19 
Fullscreen Menu 2K+ · 4.7★ (14) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↓2 3 too high 20 
Side Menu Lite – Sticky Floating Side Menu 7K+ · 4.0★ (12) thin reviews
wp.org #12 8 too high 21 
Groovy Menu Plugin (Free) 4K+ · 3.6★ (25)
wp.org #15 6 too high 22 
Active Campaign & Contact Form 7 3K+ · 4.4★ (18) thin reviews
wp.org #22 ↓1 23 
Bubble Menu – Floating Button Menu with Sticky Navigation 1K+ · 4.2★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↓1 5 too high 24 
HT Menu – WordPress Mega Menu Builder for Elementor 3K+ · 2.8★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↓1 3 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.