wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “menu location”
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 location”, 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
User IP and Location shows at wp.org #8 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.2★ average from 9 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 #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Max Mega Menu 300K+ · 4.8★ (882)
wp.org #1 2 
Nav Menu Roles 70K+ · 4.9★ (219)
wp.org #2 ↑3 3 
Sticky Menu & Sticky Header 90K+ · 4.7★ (763)
wp.org #3 ↓1 4 
WP Mobile Menu – The Mobile-Friendly Responsive Menu 70K+ · 4.7★ (256)
wp.org #4 ↓1 5 
Location Weather – WordPress Weather Forecast, Air Quality & Weather Widget 10K+ · 4.5★ (103)
wp.org #5 ↓1 6 
UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8709)
wp.org #11 ↑1 5 too low 7 
Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940)
wp.org #13 ↓2 6 too low 8 
QuadMenu – Mega Menu 10K+ · 4.5★ (270)
wp.org #10 2 too low 9 
Advanced Sidebar Menu 10K+ · 4.5★ (37)
wp.org #6 3 too high 10 
WP Bottom Menu 20K+ · 4.5★ (23) thin reviews
wp.org #7 3 too high 11 
WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833)
wp.org #19 8 too low 12 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132)
wp.org #21 9 too low 13 
Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680)
wp.org #24 11 too low 14 
Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423)
wp.org #22 ↑1 8 too low 15 
Five Star Restaurant Menu and Food Ordering 5K+ · 4.6★ (107)
wp.org #15 ↑2 16 
Kikote – Location Picker at Checkout & Google Address AutoFill Plugin for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (65)
wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too low 17 
Food Menu – Restaurant Menu & Online Ordering for WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #12 ↑1 5 too high 18 User IP and Location 3K+ · 4.2★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #8 10 too high 19 
Import Export Menu 3K+ · 4.4★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #9 10 too high 20 
Fullscreen Menu 2K+ · 4.7★ (14) thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↓4 2 too high 21 
Groovy Menu Plugin (Free) 4K+ · 3.6★ (25)
wp.org #16 ↑2 5 too high 22 B BP xProfile Location 500+ · 4.4★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #14 ↑1 8 too high 23 
Menu Caching 400+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #20 3 too high 24 
Menu Backup & Restore + Import/Export 500+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #23 ↓1 1 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.