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

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 “mistakes”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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

LWS Cleaner shows at wp.org #11 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 20K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.8★ average from 16 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Quiz Maker by AYS places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 601 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.

merit plugin signals wp.org

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

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #2 3

The SEO Framework – Fast, Automated, Effortless. 200K+ · 4.9★ (380) wp.org #3 4

Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296) wp.org #4 ↓2 5

BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) wp.org #5 ↓1 6

PW WooCommerce Bulk Edit 20K+ · 4.9★ (238) wp.org #6 ↓1 7

AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874) wp.org #8 ↑9 1 too low 8

Brizy – Page Builder 60K+ · 4.7★ (972) wp.org #10 ↓3 2 too low 9

Email Templates Customizer and Designer for WordPress and WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.6★ (133) wp.org #7 ↑2 2 too high 10

Delete Duplicate Posts 10K+ · 4.8★ (153) wp.org #13 ↓2 3 too low 11

Go Live Update Urls 90K+ · 4.5★ (59) wp.org #9 ↓3 2 too high 12

Quiz Maker by AYS 20K+ · 4.9★ (601) wp.org #19 7 too low 13

PublishPress Capabilities: User Role Access Control, Admin Area Permissions 90K+ · 4.7★ (143) wp.org #14 ↓2 1 too low 14

MultiVendorX – WooCommerce Multivendor Marketplace AI Powered Solutions 2K+ · 4.8★ (432) wp.org #20 ↑3 6 too low 15

Database Reset 10K+ · 4.5★ (77) wp.org #16 ↓3 17

Search & Replace Everything – Quick and Easy Way to Find and Replace Text, Links 20K+ · 4.7★ (26) wp.org #12 ↓2 5 too high 18

LWS Cleaner 20K+ · 4.8★ (16) thin reviews wp.org #11 ↓3 7 too high 19

Username Changer 40K+ · 4.3★ (77) wp.org #18 ↓2 1 too high 20

Gravity Forms Zero Spam 100K+ · 4.3★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #15 ↓1 5 too high 21

WP Spell Check 2K+ · 2.9★ (39) wp.org #17 ↓2 4 too high 22

WProofreader spell & grammar check plugin for WordPress 4K+ · 3.7★ (15) thin reviews wp.org #21 ↓3 1 too high 23

Search & Replace Everything by WPCode – Find and Replace Media, Text, Links, and More 20K+ · 3.9★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #23 ↓2 24

Crypto Payment Gateway with Instant Payouts 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) 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.