wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “multiple posts from category”
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 posts from category”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 5 of the top 20.
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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.
Ranked above its merit
WP Create Multiple Posts & Pages shows at wp.org #14 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.9★ average from 10 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
User Submitted Posts – Enable Users to Submit Posts from the Front End places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 913 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.
Bulk remove posts from category 10K+ · 4.6★ (100)
wp.org #1 2 
Category Posts Block 40K+ · 4.5★ (79)
wp.org #2 3 
Featured Image from URL (FIFU) 60K+ · 4.6★ (264)
wp.org #3 4 
Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1526)
wp.org #6 2 too low 5 
Category AJAX Filter – Posts, Custom Post Types & Product Filter 6K+ · 4.9★ (158)
wp.org #4 1 too high 6 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322)
wp.org #8 2 too low 7 
Remove Category URL – Remove ‘category’ base from category permalinks 40K+ · 4.3★ (61)
wp.org #5 2 too high 8 
Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296)
wp.org #7 1 too high 9 
Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails 100K+ · 4.8★ (215)
wp.org #9 10 User Submitted Posts – Enable Users to Submit Posts from the Front End 10K+ · 4.8★ (913)
wp.org #15 5 too low 11 
Schedule Post Changes With PublishPress Future: Unpublish, Delete, Change Status, Trash, Change Categories 100K+ · 4.5★ (172)
wp.org #10 1 too high 12 
Contextual Related Posts 50K+ · 4.8★ (201)
wp.org #13 1 too low 13 
Co-Authors, Multiple Authors and Guest Authors in an Author Box with PublishPress Authors 20K+ · 4.9★ (114)
wp.org #12 1 too high 14 
LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778)
wp.org #16 2 too low 15 
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27820)
wp.org #22 7 too low 16 
Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588)
wp.org #18 2 too low 17 
Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7520)
wp.org #23 6 too low 18 
Ultimate Category Excluder 50K+ · 4.3★ (78)
wp.org #11 7 too high 19 
The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461)
wp.org #21 2 too low 20 
SchedulePress – Auto Post & Publish, Auto Social Share, Schedule Posts with Editorial Calendar & Missed Schedule Post Publisher 10K+ · 4.6★ (201)
wp.org #19 1 too high 21 
Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528)
wp.org #24 3 too low 22 
Category Order and Taxonomy Terms Order 500K+ · 4.5★ (162)
wp.org #17 5 too high 23 
Inline Related Posts 100K+ · 4.3★ (77)
wp.org #20 3 too high 24 WP Create Multiple Posts & Pages 1K+ · 4.9★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #14 10 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.