wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “move”
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 “move”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 4 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
Move Addons for Elementor shows at wp.org #4 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 27821 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470)
wp.org #1 2 
All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676)
wp.org #3 1 too low 3 
Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #2 1 too high 4 
Migrate Guru – Site Migration & Cloning 200K+ · 4.9★ (1645)
wp.org #7 3 too low 5 
Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1525)
wp.org #8 ↑12 3 too low 6 
Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962)
wp.org #11 5 too low 7 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821)
wp.org #14 ↑3 7 too low 8 
Prime Mover – Backup and Migration 10K+ · 5.0★ (141)
wp.org #10 2 too low 9 
Autoptimize 800K+ · 4.7★ (1428)
wp.org #12 ↓4 3 too low 10 
SP Move Login 6K+ · 4.3★ (43)
wp.org #6 ↓1 4 too high 11 
Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) not PHP-current
wp.org #9 2 too high 12 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143)
wp.org #18 ↓3 6 too low 13 
File Manager 1M+ · 4.6★ (1492)
wp.org #16 ↓2 3 too low 14 
Schedule Post Changes With PublishPress Future: Unpublish, Delete, Change Status, Trash, Change Categories 100K+ · 4.5★ (172)
wp.org #15 ↓6 1 too low 15 
Copy Move Posts 400+ · 4.8★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #5 ↑1 10 too high 16 
File Manager Pro – Filester 100K+ · 4.9★ (155)
wp.org #21 5 too low 17 
Table Field Add-on for ACF and SCF 50K+ · 4.9★ (60)
wp.org #19 2 too low 18 
Real Media Library: Media Library Folder & File Manager 100K+ · 4.8★ (297) not PHP-current
wp.org #23 ↓4 5 too low 19 
bbPress 100K+ · 3.9★ (343)
wp.org #22 3 too low 20 
Yoast Duplicate Post 3M+ · 4.7★ (538) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #17 ↓1 3 too high 21 Move Addons for Elementor 2K+ · 4.0★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #4 17 too high 22 
Migrate to WordPress.com 2K+ · 4.7★ (9) not PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #24 2 too low 23 
Blocks Export Import – Backup & Move Gutenberg Blocks as JSON 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #13 ↓1 10 too high 24 
Move Payment 100+ · 0.0★ (0) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #20 4 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.