wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “months”
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 “months”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 6 plugins are 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 it throws errors on current PHP, whether the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.
Ranked above its merit
Hostinger Reach – AI-Powered Email Marketing for WordPress shows at wp.org #5 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 1M+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 8 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Temporary Login Without Password places #10 on merit, 5.0★ from 1549 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461)
wp.org #2 1 too low 2 
Dynamic Month & Year into Posts 8K+ · 5.0★ (18) thin reviews
wp.org #1 1 too high 3 
Imagify Image Optimization: Optimize Images | Compress & Convert to WebP/AVIF 900K+ · 4.3★ (1656)
wp.org #3 4 
Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1237)
wp.org #6 ↑7 2 too low 5 
Backup Migration 80K+ · 4.9★ (1338)
wp.org #8 ↑1 3 too low 6 
WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209)
wp.org #9 ↑1 3 too low 7 
My Calendar – Accessible Event Manager 20K+ · 4.7★ (159)
wp.org #7 ↓3 8 
WP RSS Aggregator – RSS Import, Feed to Post, Autoblogging, AI Content 40K+ · 4.5★ (565)
wp.org #10 ↓2 2 too low 9 
All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676)
wp.org #11 2 too low 10 Temporary Login Without Password 90K+ · 5.0★ (1549)
wp.org #18 ↑1 8 too low 11 
Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418)
wp.org #17 ↑1 6 too low 12 
WooCommerce PayPal Payments 800K+ · 2.9★ (583) throws errorsnot PHP-current low rating, top placement
wp.org #4 ↑2 8 too high 13 
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281)
wp.org #20 ↓13 7 too low 14 
Simple Membership 40K+ · 4.6★ (475) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #13 1 too high 15 
Easy WP SMTP – WordPress SMTP and Email Logs: Gmail SMTP, Office 365, Outlook, Custom SMTP, and more 500K+ · 4.6★ (709)
wp.org #21 6 too low 16 
WP Date and Time Shortcode 10K+ · 4.9★ (31)
wp.org #12 4 too high 17 
Nelio A/B Testing – AB Tests and Heatmaps for Better Conversion Optimization 4K+ · 4.8★ (99)
wp.org #16 1 too high 18 
BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #14 ↑6 4 too high 19 
EventPrime – Events Calendar, Bookings, Tickets & AI 7K+ · 4.4★ (85) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #15 4 too high 20 
Simple Calendar – Google Calendar Plugin 50K+ · 3.8★ (397) heavy footprint
wp.org #24 ↓2 4 too low 21 Hostinger Reach – AI-Powered Email Marketing for WordPress 1M+ · 5.0★ (8) host-installed base thin reviews
wp.org #5 16 too high 22 
Coupon Affiliates – Affiliate Plugin for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.9★ (77) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #23 ↓6 1 too low 23 
Booking Package 10K+ · 4.0★ (15) thin reviews
wp.org #19 4 too high 24 
EventON – Events Calendar 6K+ · 4.1★ (44) throws errorsnot PHP-current
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.