wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “modern image formats”
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 “modern image formats”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20. 1 plugin is pushed down for signals wp.org ignores: errors, a host-installed base, or removal risk.
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
Image Optimizer – Compress Images and Convert to WebP or AVIF shows at wp.org #8 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 1M+ installs carry it up the search order; its 1.7★ average from 81 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
How this rank is calculated
Each plugin's merit score multiplies these inputs together: how recently it was updated, how current its "tested up to" WordPress version is, its install base (log scale, capped at 10 million), its support thread resolution rate, and a rating score. The rating score weights the star average by review volume against a sitewide prior, then scales it by the lower bound of the share of 4 and 5 star reviews. A plugin with 3.7 stars from tens of thousands of reviews can still outscore a 4.9 with a few dozen, because the small sample carries less certainty.
A health factor between 0.4 and 1.15 then adjusts that score for what wp.org's search can't see: PHP fatals or failed activations on a test install, PHP and WordPress compatibility, memory and page-speed footprint, suspicious review patterns, closure risk, and a large install base with very few reviews. Clean, adopted plugins earn a small lift.
A keyword ranking starts from wp.org's search order for the term, weighting each position by 1 divided by its place, then applies the merit correction and health factor above. Relevance to the keyword stays in the result, so the order can differ from the all-categories list on /best, which scores plugins with no search term.
Hover a row to see the main reason for its position.
EWWW Image Optimizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1,844)
wp.org #2 wp.org ranks it 1 place below merit 2 
Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN 1M+ · 4.8★ (6,053)
wp.org #3 ↑2 wp.org ranks it 1 place below merit 3 
Modern Image Formats 100K+ · 3.6★ (26)
wp.org #1 wp.org ranks it 2 places above merit 4 
Robin Image Optimizer – Unlimited Image Optimization, WebP & AVIF 100K+ · 4.4★ (132)
wp.org #4 ↓1 5 
W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5,420)
wp.org #6 ↑9 wp.org ranks it 1 place below merit 6 
Image Watermark 40K+ · 4.2★ (299)
wp.org #5 ↑2 wp.org ranks it 1 place above merit 7 
Imagify Image Optimization: Optimize Images | Compress & Convert to WebP/AVIF 900K+ · 4.3★ (1,657)
wp.org #7 ↓3 8 
Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (617)
wp.org #10 ↓1 wp.org ranks it 2 places below merit 9 
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4,132)
wp.org #11 ↑1 wp.org ranks it 2 places below merit 10 
Robo Gallery – Photo & Image Slider 40K+ · 4.3★ (406)
wp.org #9 ↑4 wp.org ranks it 1 place above merit 11 
WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2,617)
wp.org #12 ↑2 wp.org ranks it 1 place below merit 12 
Ultimate Responsive Image Slider 30K+ · 4.5★ (248)
wp.org #13 ↑5 wp.org ranks it 1 place below merit 13 
Perfect Images: Regenerate Thumbnails, Image Sizes, WebP & AVIF 60K+ · 4.8★ (279)
wp.org #16 ↓6 wp.org ranks it 3 places below merit 14 
WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4,230)
wp.org #20 ↑4 wp.org ranks it 6 places below merit 15 
Optimole – Optimize Images | Convert WebP & AVIF | CDN & Lazy Load | Image Optimization 200K+ · 4.7★ (640)
wp.org #19 wp.org ranks it 4 places below merit 16 
TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4,625)
wp.org #24 ↓2 wp.org ranks it 8 places below merit 17 
TinyPNG Image Optimization – Image Compression JPEG & PNG | Convert to WebP & AVIF 100K+ · 4.5★ (181)
wp.org #15 ↑1 wp.org ranks it 2 places above merit 18 
Cimo – Free Instant Image Optimizer & WebP Converter 10K+ · 4.9★ (20) thin reviews
wp.org #14 ↓6 wp.org ranks it 4 places above merit 19 
Flipbox – Awesomes Flip Boxes Image Overlay 9K+ · 4.7★ (149)
wp.org #23 ↓2 wp.org ranks it 4 places below merit 20 
ThumbPress – Compress Images, Manage Thumbnails, Detect Image Issues, WebP/AVIF, Lazy Loading, Hotlinking & More 20K+ · 3.7★ (118)
wp.org #17 ↓6 wp.org ranks it 3 places above merit 21 
Performance Lab 100K+ · 4.3★ (51)
wp.org #18 ↓1 wp.org ranks it 3 places above merit 22 
Alt Text AI – Automatically generate image alt text for SEO and accessibility 20K+ · 4.7★ (35)
wp.org #22 ↓2 23 
Image Gallery 3K+ · 4.4★ (32)
wp.org #21 ↑2 wp.org ranks it 2 places above merit 24 Image Optimizer – Compress Images and Convert to WebP or AVIF 1M+ · 1.7★ (81) host-installed base
wp.org #8 ↓2 wp.org ranks it 16 places above merit Merit ranking caps the install boost at 10M (wp.org leaves it uncapped), replaces the raw star average with a volume-weighted 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.