wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “multisite backup”

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 “multisite backup”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 of the top 20. 2 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

Royal WordPress Backup, Restore & Migration Plugin – Backup WordPress Sites Safely shows at wp.org #12 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 30K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 5209 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #1 2

UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #2 3

WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470) wp.org #3 ↑2 4

Backup Migration 80K+ · 4.9★ (1338) wp.org #5 ↓2 1 too low 5

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #4 1 too high 6

WPvivid — Backup, Migration & Staging 900K+ · 4.9★ (1568) wp.org #6 7

All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676) wp.org #8 1 too low 8

JetBackup – Backup, Restore & Migrate 200K+ · 4.5★ (1056) wp.org #9 1 too low 9

BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) not PHP-current wp.org #7 2 too high 10

BlogVault Backup & Staging 80K+ · 4.6★ (332) wp.org #10 11

WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209) wp.org #16 5 too low 12

Prime Mover – Backup and Migration 10K+ · 5.0★ (141) wp.org #14 ↓1 2 too low 13

WP Database Backup – Unlimited Database & Files Backup by Backup for WP 20K+ · 4.5★ (102) wp.org #11 2 too high 14

WP Umbrella: Security Backup Restore & Monitoring 90K+ · 4.8★ (81) wp.org #13 ↑2 1 too high 15

LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #20 5 too low 16

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint wp.org #19 3 too low 17

Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528) wp.org #21 ↓4 4 too low 18

All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #22 ↑1 4 too low 19

Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) not PHP-current wp.org #17 2 too high 20

Jetpack VaultPress Backup 20K+ · 4.5★ (35) wp.org #15 ↓1 5 too high 21

Everest Backup – WordPress Cloud Backup, Migration, Restore & Cloning Plugin 3K+ · 4.4★ (45) wp.org #18 3 too high 22

Royal WordPress Backup, Restore & Migration Plugin – Backup WordPress Sites Safely 30K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #12 10 too high 23

WebToffee WP Backup and Migration 5K+ · 4.5★ (49) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #24 ↓2 1 too low 24

Customizer Backup & Reset 7K+ · 4.2★ (15) thin reviews wp.org #23 ↓3 1 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.