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← Rankings

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

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 recent”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 2 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.

R

Ranked above its merit

Recent Category Posts Widget shows at wp.org #5 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy places #11 on merit, 5.0★ from 4625 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 wp.org
1 Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails 100K+ · 4.8★ (215) wp.org #1 2 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #2 3 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery 300K+ · 4.3★ (4342) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #11 4 too low 8 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #8 ↑2 9 Relevanssi – A Better Search 100K+ · 4.8★ (406) wp.org #13 ↑1 4 too low 10 Simple Local Avatars 100K+ · 4.6★ (89) wp.org #9 1 too high 11 TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625) wp.org #19 8 too low 12 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #15 ↑3 3 too low 13 WP Activity Log 300K+ · 4.7★ (490) wp.org #14 ↓2 1 too low 14 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #18 ↑6 4 too low 15 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #21 6 too low 16 Co-Authors, Multiple Authors and Guest Authors in an Author Box with PublishPress Authors 20K+ · 4.9★ (114) wp.org #10 ↓2 6 too high 17 Category Posts Block 40K+ · 4.5★ (79) wp.org #16 1 too high 18 GN Publisher: Google News Compatible RSS Feeds 20K+ · 4.9★ (29) wp.org #17 1 too high 19 C Custom Post Type Widgets 10K+ · 4.8★ (14) wp.org #12 ↑1 7 too high 20 WPVulnerability 10K+ · 5.0★ (20) wp.org #20 21 Read Meter – Reading Time & Progress Bar 10K+ · 4.5★ (19) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 R Recent Category Posts Widget 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 ↑1 17 too high 23 Latest Posts 4K+ · 4.6★ (7) wp.org #23 ↓2 24 Buzzsprout Podcasting 5K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #24 ↓1

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.