Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “most commented”

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 “most commented”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 3 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

WP-Stats shows at wp.org #4 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.6★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP All Import – Drag & Drop Import for CSV, XML, Excel & Google Sheets places #6 on merit, 4.7★ from 1966 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 AnWP Post Grid and Post Carousel Slider for Elementor 20K+ · 4.9★ (84) wp.org #1 ↑9 2 W WP Photo Album Plus 10K+ · 4.7★ (199) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 Flex Posts – Responsive Posts Block 2K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #3 ↓2 4 Smart Post – Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider Gutenberg Blocks for Blog & News 20K+ · 4.7★ (210) wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too low 5 Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #5 ↓1 6 WP All Import – Drag & Drop Import for CSV, XML, Excel & Google Sheets 100K+ · 4.7★ (1966) wp.org #16 ↑2 10 too low 7 Peter's Post Notes – Admin Notes for Posts and Pages 3K+ · 4.9★ (26) wp.org #8 ↑1 1 too low 8 Youzify – BuddyPress Community, User Profile, Social Network & Membership Plugin for WordPress 5K+ · 4.8★ (194) wp.org #14 ↑2 6 too low 9 UsersWP – Front-end login form, User Registration, User Profile & Members Directory plugin for WP 20K+ · 4.7★ (183) wp.org #15 ↑2 6 too low 10 Broadcast 1K+ · 4.9★ (214) wp.org #13 ↑2 3 too low 11 AMP WP – Google AMP For WordPress 600+ · 4.5★ (55) wp.org #12 ↑2 1 too low 12 iZooto – Web Push Notifications 900+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #9 ↑2 3 too high 13 FluentComments – AJAX Comments, Anti-Spam & Comment Email Notifications 700+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #10 ↑3 3 too high 14 wp-forecast 4K+ · 4.2★ (23) wp.org #24 10 too low 15 WP-Stats 2K+ · 2.6★ (7) wp.org #4 ↓2 11 too high 16 Email Marketing Plugin – WP Email Capture 1K+ · 4.3★ (19) wp.org #20 ↑2 4 too low 17 P PiwigoPress 200+ · 3.7★ (6) wp.org #7 ↓1 10 too high 18 Stunning Related for Posts, Products, Pages and widgets 60+ · 3.4★ (5) wp.org #11 ↑1 7 too high 19 WP Show Stats 400+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #23 4 too low 20 ABCode Cache Warmer 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 1 too high 21 Notifal – AI Popup Builder & CRO Engine: Sales Notifications, Social Proof & Exit Intent Popups 50+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 ↑2 3 too high 22 PushAI – Self-Hosted Web Push Notifications 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 ↑2 5 too high 23 NiroRoadmap – Public Product Roadmap & Kanban Board 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↑1 1 too high 24 Ultimate Searchable Accordion Lite – WPBakery Page Builder Addon 200+ · 5.0★ (1) 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.