wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “multi site”
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 “multi site”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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
Multi Site Post Publisher shows at wp.org #9 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 80+ 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
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 2143 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423)
wp.org #1 2 
Site Reviews 60K+ · 4.9★ (376)
wp.org #2 ↑1 3 
Migrate Guru – Site Migration & Cloning 200K+ · 4.9★ (1645)
wp.org #3 ↑1 4 
MultiVendorX – WooCommerce Multivendor Marketplace AI Powered Solutions 2K+ · 4.8★ (432) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #4 ↑3 5 
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #12 7 too low 6 
InfiniteWP Client 200K+ · 4.4★ (177)
wp.org #8 ↑1 2 too low 7 
UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706)
wp.org #15 ↑1 8 too low 8 
Webheadcoder Multi-Step Forms for Contact Form 7 50K+ · 4.2★ (49) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #5 3 too high 9 
Multi Step Form 8K+ · 4.3★ (36)
wp.org #7 ↑1 2 too high 10 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143)
wp.org #21 ↓1 11 too low 11 
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint
wp.org #17 ↓3 6 too low 12 
User Role Editor 700K+ · 4.5★ (288)
wp.org #14 ↑3 2 too low 13 
WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617)
wp.org #20 ↑3 7 too low 14 
Limit Login Attempts Security – Login Security, 2FA, Firewall, Brute Force Prevention 1M+ · 4.8★ (1488)
wp.org #19 ↓6 5 too low 15 
YayCurrency – WooCommerce Multi-Currency Switcher 7K+ · 4.8★ (114)
wp.org #16 ↑6 1 too low 16 
My Private Site – Make Your Whole Site Private, Force Login & Block Registration Spam 10K+ · 4.5★ (82) not PHP-current
wp.org #11 5 too high 17 M Multi Device Switcher 10K+ · 4.3★ (11) thin reviews
wp.org #6 11 too high 18 
Team Members – Multi Language Supported Team Plugin 6K+ · 5.0★ (85)
wp.org #18 ↑1 19 
Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #22 ↑2 3 too low 20 
Disable Comments 1M+ · 4.7★ (281)
wp.org #23 ↓21 3 too low 21 
Greek Multi Tool 1K+ · 4.6★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #10 ↑5 11 too high 22 
CF7 Mate – Contact Form 7 Styler, Multi-Step Forms & Conditional Logic 20K+ · 3.9★ (46) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #24 2 too low 23 Multi Site Post Publisher 80+ · 5.0★ (2) not PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #9 ↑1 14 too high 24 
Multi Currency Switcher for WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (1) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #13 ↑8 11 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.