Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “n blocks”

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 “n blocks”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 8 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

ska-blocks – TailwindCSS for Block Editor shows at wp.org #5 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 70+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Starter Templates: AI-Powered Website Templates for Elementor & Gutenberg places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 4755 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 wp.org
1 Category Posts Block 40K+ · 4.5★ (79) wp.org #1 2 Antispam Bee 700K+ · 4.8★ (226) wp.org #2 3 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 FooGallery Photo Gallery : Image, Video & Masonry Galleries 100K+ · 4.8★ (995) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Content Views – Post Grid & Filter (Shortcode, Blocks, Elementor Widgets) 100K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 WP Limit Login Attempts 10K+ · 4.6★ (300) wp.org #10 ↓2 4 too low 7 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #17 ↓3 10 too low 8 hCaptcha for WP 70K+ · 4.6★ (88) wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too low 9 Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #9 10 Starter Templates: AI-Powered Website Templates for Elementor & Gutenberg 1M+ · 4.9★ (4755) wp.org #23 ↓3 13 too low 11 HD Quiz 6K+ · 4.9★ (145) wp.org #22 11 too low 12 WP-PostViews 90K+ · 4.4★ (65) wp.org #18 ↓1 6 too low 13 Get Use APIs – JSON Content Importer 5K+ · 4.9★ (78) wp.org #21 8 too low 14 Advanced Post Block – Display Your Posts Exactly How You Want 10K+ · 4.2★ (17) wp.org #8 ↓1 6 too high 15 Advanced Accordion Gutenberg Block – Create Beautiful FAQs, Content Accordions & Interactive Tabs 9K+ · 4.1★ (34) wp.org #19 ↓1 4 too low 16 OrderConvo – Vendor & Customer Messages After Orders 200+ · 4.6★ (22) wp.org #24 ↓1 8 too low 17 Counter live visitors for WooCommerce 4K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #15 ↓2 2 too high 18 ska-blocks – TailwindCSS for Block Editor 70+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 13 too high 19 REST API blocks 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 13 too high 20 Recently Viewed Products for WooCommerce – Carousel, Widget, Block & Email 1K+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #14 ↑1 6 too high 21 Swipe n Buy for WooCommerce – let shoppers swipe through products and buy 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 ↓1 9 too high 22 N-Genius Online by Network 1K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 6 too high 23 Description List Block 400+ · 2.3★ (3) wp.org #13 ↓1 10 too high 24 Plug-N-Meet web conference integration 100+ · 3.5★ (2) wp.org #20 ↓1 4 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.