Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “multiple contributors”

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 “multiple contributors”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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

Molongui Post Contributors: Multi-Role Contributor Attribution shows at wp.org #4 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 19 places. Its 400+ 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

WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 4228 reviews, but shows at wp.org #12. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #1 2 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #2 3 Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 Co-Authors, Multiple Authors and Guest Authors in an Author Box with PublishPress Authors 20K+ · 4.9★ (114) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296) wp.org #5 6 Editorial Calendar 20K+ · 4.9★ (79) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too low 7 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #12 ↑1 5 too low 8 Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 Category Order and Taxonomy Terms Order 500K+ · 4.5★ (162) wp.org #10 ↓2 1 too low 10 Molongui Authorship – Author Boxes, Guest Authors & Co-Authors for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (158) wp.org #13 ↓2 3 too low 11 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #15 4 too low 12 GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) wp.org #14 2 too low 13 WP Post Author – Author Box, Multiple Authors, Guest Authors & Custom Avatars 10K+ · 4.2★ (22) wp.org #9 4 too high 14 RSS Aggregator by Feedzy – Feed to Post, Autoblogging, News & YouTube Video Feeds Aggregator 40K+ · 4.6★ (361) wp.org #24 10 too low 15 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) wp.org #17 2 too low 16 Redux Framework 900K+ · 4.4★ (273) wp.org #16 ↓4 17 Otter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder for Gutenberg Editor & FSE 300K+ · 4.7★ (251) wp.org #21 ↓5 4 too low 18 Password Protected 300K+ · 4.4★ (142) wp.org #22 ↓3 4 too low 19 Event Tickets and Registration 90K+ · 3.5★ (236) wp.org #18 ↓1 1 too high 20 CMB2 300K+ · 5.0★ (91) wp.org #19 ↑1 1 too high 21 Co-Authors Plus 20K+ · 3.5★ (77) wp.org #20 ↓2 1 too high 22 Sucuri Security – Auditing, Malware Scanner and Security Hardening 600K+ · 4.2★ (386) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 Molongui Post Contributors: Multi-Role Contributor Attribution 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #4 19 too high 24 Site Assets 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 ↓1 13 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.