wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “meta version”
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 “meta version”, 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
Remove Meta Generators shows at wp.org #11 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 1K+ 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
Product Feed PRO for WooCommerce by AdTribes – Product Feeds for WooCommerce places #11 on merit, 4.7★ from 1072 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Meta Box – A Framework for Dynamic Websites 500K+ · 4.8★ (165)
wp.org #1 2 
Meta Tag Manager 70K+ · 4.8★ (84)
wp.org #2 3 W WP Meta and Date Remover 80K+ · 4.2★ (71)
wp.org #3 4 
Meta Field Block – Display Custom Fields for ACF, Meta Box and More 10K+ · 5.0★ (57)
wp.org #4 5 
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27820)
wp.org #9 ↑1 4 too low 6 
Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962)
wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too low 7 
Import and export users and customers 70K+ · 4.7★ (259)
wp.org #7 ↑1 8 
All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231)
wp.org #14 ↓1 6 too low 9 
Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7520)
wp.org #16 ↓1 7 too low 10 
Head Meta Data 10K+ · 4.8★ (19) thin reviews
wp.org #6 4 too high 11 Product Feed PRO for WooCommerce by AdTribes – Product Feeds for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.7★ (1072)
wp.org #20 ↓3 9 too low 12 
Meta Generator and Version Info Remover 10K+ · 5.0★ (28)
wp.org #10 ↓1 2 too high 13 
Meta for WooCommerce 400K+ · 2.1★ (481) low rating, top placement
wp.org #5 8 too high 14 
Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440)
wp.org #17 ↑7 3 too low 15 
TranslatePress – Translate Multilingual sites with AI Translation 400K+ · 4.7★ (1667)
wp.org #24 ↓2 9 too low 16 
PixelYourSite – Your smart PIXEL (TAG) & API Manager 400K+ · 4.3★ (281)
wp.org #23 7 too low 17 
SureRank SEO – Meta Tags, Social Preview, XML Sitemap, Schema & Open Graph 300K+ · 4.8★ (51)
wp.org #19 2 too low 18 
MDTF – Meta Data and Taxonomies Filter 900+ · 4.5★ (28)
wp.org #18 19 
VS Meta Description 3K+ · 4.4★ (16) thin reviews
wp.org #12 7 too high 20 
Meta pixel for WordPress 400K+ · 2.7★ (164)
wp.org #13 ↑1 7 too high 21 
JSM Show Post Metadata 10K+ · 5.0★ (12) thin reviews
wp.org #21 22 
Meta Keywords for Each Page 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #15 ↑1 7 too high 23 Remove Meta Generators 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #11 12 too high 24 
Auto SEO META keywords (META tags keywords) optimization + WooCommerce 500+ · 3.0★ (2) thin reviews
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.