wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “move wordpress”
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 wordpress”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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
Move Addons for Elementor shows at wp.org #10 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 14 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
Migrate Guru – Site Migration & Cloning places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 1645 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821)
wp.org #1 2 
All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676)
wp.org #2 ↑1 3 
Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962)
wp.org #3 ↓1 4 
TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625)
wp.org #4 ↑1 5 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #5 ↓1 6 
WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470)
wp.org #7 ↑1 1 too low 7 
Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups 80K+ · 4.4★ (859)
wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too high 8 
Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #8 ↓2 9 Migrate Guru – Site Migration & Cloning 200K+ · 4.9★ (1645)
wp.org #15 ↓4 6 too low 10 
BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) not PHP-current
wp.org #9 1 too high 11 
UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8708)
wp.org #17 6 too low 12 
AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874)
wp.org #18 ↓4 6 too low 13 
FG Joomla to WordPress 7K+ · 4.7★ (336)
wp.org #14 ↑1 1 too low 14 
Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #11 ↑10 3 too high 15 
WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (199)
wp.org #16 1 too low 16 
Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN 1M+ · 4.8★ (6053)
wp.org #22 6 too low 17 
Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes 300K+ · 4.9★ (491)
wp.org #20 ↓2 3 too low 18 
FileBird – WordPress Media Library Folders & File Manager 200K+ · 4.7★ (1125)
wp.org #24 6 too low 19 
SP Move Login 6K+ · 4.3★ (43)
wp.org #12 7 too high 20 
MapPress – Google Maps, OpenStreetMap & Leaflet 30K+ · 4.7★ (147)
wp.org #23 3 too low 21 
Copy Move Posts 400+ · 4.8★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #13 8 too high 22 
MxChat – AI Chatbot & Content Generation for WordPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (31) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #19 3 too high 23 
WordPress Beta Tester 2K+ · 4.0★ (47)
wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too high 24 Move Addons for Elementor 2K+ · 4.0★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #10 14 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.