wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “more users”
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 “more users”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 5 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
Read More Without Refresh shows at wp.org #12 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 5 places. Its 20K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.2★ average from 55 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322)
wp.org #1 2 
Import and export users and customers 70K+ · 4.7★ (259)
wp.org #2 3 
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #3 4 
Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940)
wp.org #4 5 
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 #5 6 
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #6 7 
User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738)
wp.org #7 8 
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281)
wp.org #8 9 
Ajax Load More – Infinite Scroll, Load More, & Lazy Load 30K+ · 4.8★ (287)
wp.org #10 1 too low 10 
Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551)
wp.org #9 1 too high 11 
Export and Import Users and Customers 50K+ · 4.8★ (442)
wp.org #11 12 
Load More Products for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.9★ (275)
wp.org #15 3 too low 13 
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5040)
wp.org #18 5 too low 14 
User Switching 200K+ · 4.9★ (238)
wp.org #16 2 too low 15 
User Role Editor 700K+ · 4.5★ (288)
wp.org #14 1 too high 16 
hCaptcha for WP 70K+ · 4.6★ (88)
wp.org #13 3 too high 17 Read More Without Refresh 20K+ · 4.2★ (55)
wp.org #12 5 too high 18 
Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262)
wp.org #23 5 too low 19 
WP Remote Users Sync 6K+ · 4.9★ (73)
wp.org #19 20 
Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012)
wp.org #22 2 too low 21 
Activity Log – Monitor User and Agent Changes 200K+ · 4.3★ (74)
wp.org #17 4 too high 22 
Send Users Email – Email Subscribers, Email Marketing Newsletter 5K+ · 4.5★ (28)
wp.org #20 2 too high 23 
Index WP Users For Speed 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #24 1 too low 24 
Query Loop Load More 900+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #21 3 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.