Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “no markup”

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 “no markup”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 3 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

Protect schema.org markup in HTML editor shows at wp.org #5 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 700+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Customer Reviews for WooCommerce places #4 on merit, 4.8★ from 1539 reviews, but shows at wp.org #11. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #1 2 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #2 3 WPSSO Core – Complete Schema Markup and Meta Tags 4K+ · 4.6★ (306) wp.org #7 4 too low 4 Customer Reviews for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (1539) wp.org #11 ↑1 7 too low 5 Markup Markdown 1K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 Markup by Attribute for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.5★ (28) wp.org #4 2 too high 7 Minify HTML 10K+ · 4.7★ (33) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 Media Library Assistant 70K+ · 4.8★ (202) wp.org #15 7 too low 9 Schema & Structured Data for WP & AMP 100K+ · 4.5★ (252) wp.org #9 ↓1 10 Real Testimonials – Testimonial Slider, Collect Customer Reviews and Video Testimonials 40K+ · 4.7★ (226) wp.org #16 ↓1 6 too low 11 WP-Polls 40K+ · 4.2★ (136) wp.org #14 ↑2 3 too low 12 No Gutenberg? – Choose Where to Use the Block Editor or the Classic Editor 9K+ · 5.0★ (16) wp.org #8 ↑1 4 too high 13 WPFront Scroll Top 200K+ · 4.9★ (142) wp.org #18 ↑4 5 too low 14 Rate My Post – Star Rating Plugin by FeedbackWP 20K+ · 4.7★ (159) wp.org #12 ↑1 2 too high 15 A Advanced Excerpt 80K+ · 4.3★ (101) wp.org #17 ↑3 2 too low 16 Protect schema.org markup in HTML editor 700+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #5 11 too high 17 Recipe Card Blocks Lite 10K+ · 4.8★ (20) wp.org #13 ↑1 4 too high 18 Schema – All In One Schema Rich Snippets 30K+ · 4.0★ (162) wp.org #23 5 too low 19 WPSSO Schema Breadcrumbs Markup 300+ · 4.9★ (19) wp.org #10 ↑1 9 too high 20 ThinkRank SEO – AI SEO Plugin for SEO & Google Search Console 20K+ · 4.9★ (36) wp.org #19 1 too high 21 SVG Block 4K+ · 5.0★ (14) wp.org #21 ↑2 22 K KIA Subtitle 7K+ · 5.0★ (18) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 CPS | Age Verification 800+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #22 ↑2 1 too high 24 BBH Custom Schema – Add Custom JSON-LD to Your Website 900+ · 5.0★ (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.