Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “network admin”

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 “network admin”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

Organizers Embed – Action Network for WordPress shows at wp.org #6 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 18 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

LiteSpeed Cache places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 2778 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #1 2 Admin Menu Editor 300K+ · 4.6★ (312) wp.org #2 3 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 #4 1 too low 4 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 View Admin As 9K+ · 4.9★ (49) wp.org #5 6 User Role Editor 700K+ · 4.5★ (288) wp.org #8 ↑1 2 too low 7 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #9 ↓3 2 too low 8 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #15 ↑1 7 too low 9 Customize WordPress Emails and Alerts – Better Notifications for WP 30K+ · 4.8★ (184) wp.org #14 ↓1 5 too low 10 PublishPress Capabilities: User Role Access Control, Admin Area Permissions 90K+ · 4.7★ (143) wp.org #13 ↓1 3 too low 11 All In One Login 60K+ · 3.6★ (35) wp.org #7 4 too high 12 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #21 ↓1 9 too low 13 Breadcrumb NavXT 800K+ · 4.6★ (132) wp.org #12 ↑2 1 too high 14 Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) wp.org #18 ↓3 4 too low 15 Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #16 ↓6 1 too low 16 Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276) wp.org #19 3 too low 17 PDF Invoices & Packing Slips for WooCommerce 300K+ · 5.0★ (1865) wp.org #24 ↓2 7 too low 18 WP Multi Network 100+ · 4.3★ (24) wp.org #11 7 too high 19 FluentCommunity – Ultra-Fast High-Performance Social Network, Community, LMS & Online Courses 8K+ · 4.8★ (96) wp.org #22 ↓3 3 too low 20 CiviCRM Admin Utilities 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #10 ↓2 10 too high 21 NextScripts: Social Networks Auto-Poster 20K+ · 3.3★ (617) wp.org #20 ↓2 1 too high 22 Hide Admin Bar Based on User Roles – Disable the WordPress Toolbar by Role or Capability 20K+ · 3.9★ (20) wp.org #17 5 too high 23 affiliate-toolkit – Multi-Network Affiliate & Amazon Product Display 2K+ · 4.5★ (22) wp.org #23 ↓2 24 Organizers Embed – Action Network for WordPress 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 ↑1 18 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.