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

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 migration”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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

Pantheon Migrations shows at wp.org #12 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 1K+ 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

JetBackup – Backup, Restore & Migrate places #12 on merit, 4.5★ from 1056 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676) wp.org #1 ↑1 2

UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8708) wp.org #2 ↓1 3

WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470) wp.org #5 2 too low 4

WPvivid — Backup, Migration & Staging 900K+ · 4.9★ (1568) wp.org #4 5

Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #3 2 too high 6

Backup Migration 80K+ · 4.9★ (1338) wp.org #6 7

Prime Mover – Backup and Migration 10K+ · 5.0★ (141) wp.org #7 8

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #8 9

BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) not PHP-current wp.org #9 ↑1 10

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 #17 ↓3 7 too low 11

Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) not PHP-current wp.org #11 ↓3 12

JetBackup – Backup, Restore & Migrate 200K+ · 4.5★ (1056) wp.org #23 11 too low 13

WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #24 11 too low 14

NS Cloner – Site Cloner and Multisite Duplicator 6K+ · 4.7★ (279) wp.org #20 ↓1 6 too low 15

BlogVault Backup & Staging 80K+ · 4.6★ (332) wp.org #22 7 too low 16

WP Migrate Lite – Migration Made Easy 200K+ · 4.2★ (318) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #13 ↓1 3 too high 17

WebToffee WP Backup and Migration 5K+ · 4.5★ (49) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #10 ↓1 7 too high 18

1-Click WordPress Migration Plugin – Backup, Migrate & Clone 400+ · 4.5★ (40) wp.org #16 ↓3 2 too high 19

WP Synchro – The Ultimate WordPress Migration Tool 2K+ · 5.0★ (30) wp.org #18 ↑2 1 too high 20

Everest Backup – WordPress Cloud Backup, Migration, Restore & Cloning Plugin 3K+ · 4.4★ (45) wp.org #21 ↓3 1 too low 21

Pantheon Migrations 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #12 ↓1 9 too high 22

Royal WordPress Backup, Restore & Migration Plugin – Backup WordPress Sites Safely 30K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #15 ↑1 7 too high 23

Ultimate Multisite – WordPress Multisite SaaS & WaaS Platform 90+ · 5.0★ (11) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #14 ↑1 9 too high 24

InstaWP Connect – 1-click WP Staging & Migration 40K+ · 4.5★ (12) thin reviews wp.org #19 ↓2 5 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.