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

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 “migration”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

DreamHost Automated Migration shows at wp.org #9 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 20K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.6★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Prime Mover – Backup and Migration places #10 on merit, 5.0★ from 141 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8709) wp.org #1 2

All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676) wp.org #2 3

Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) wp.org #3 4

WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470) wp.org #5 ↑2 1 too low 5

WPvivid — Backup, Migration & Staging 900K+ · 4.9★ (1568) wp.org #4 1 too high 6

Backup Migration 80K+ · 4.9★ (1338) wp.org #6 ↓1 7

Migrate Guru – Site Migration & Cloning 200K+ · 4.9★ (1644) wp.org #7 ↓1 8

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #8 9

WP Migrate Lite – Migration Made Easy 200K+ · 4.2★ (318) wp.org #12 ↓1 3 too low 10

Prime Mover – Backup and Migration 10K+ · 5.0★ (141) wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too low 11

BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) wp.org #15 ↑3 4 too low 12

WebToffee WP Backup and Migration 5K+ · 4.5★ (49) wp.org #10 ↓1 2 too high 13

LitExtension – Automated Store Migration & Import 1K+ · 4.8★ (51) wp.org #18 ↓2 5 too low 14

Backuply – Backup, Restore, Migrate and Clone 600K+ · 4.5★ (135) wp.org #23 9 too low 15

Pressable Automated Migration 4K+ · 5.0★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #11 ↓1 4 too high 16

WP Synchro – The Ultimate WordPress Migration Tool 2K+ · 5.0★ (30) wp.org #20 4 too low 17

FastDup – Fastest WordPress Migration & Duplicator 5K+ · 4.6★ (27) wp.org #17 ↓2 18

1-Click WordPress Migration Plugin – Backup, Migrate & Clone 400+ · 4.5★ (40) wp.org #21 ↓4 3 too low 19

DreamHost Automated Migration 20K+ · 4.6★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #9 ↓1 10 too high 20

Pantheon Migrations 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #13 ↓1 7 too high 21

Royal WordPress Backup, Restore & Migration Plugin – Backup WordPress Sites Safely 30K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #19 ↑4 2 too high 22

InstaWP Connect – 1-click WP Staging & Migration 40K+ · 4.5★ (12) thin reviews wp.org #22 ↓3 23

Tutor LMS – Migration Tool 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #16 ↓2 7 too high 24

Demi – One Click Demo Import, Backup & Site Migration 300+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #24 ↓2

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.