wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “one time”
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 “one time”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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
One Time Login shows at wp.org #5 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 40K+ 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 #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #1 2 
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821)
wp.org #2 ↑2 3 
All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676)
wp.org #3 ↓1 4 
All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720)
wp.org #4 ↓1 5 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143)
wp.org #7 2 too low 6 
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5038) heavy footprint
wp.org #9 3 too low 7 
Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN 1M+ · 4.8★ (6053)
wp.org #16 ↓1 9 too low 8 
One User Avatar | User Profile Picture 100K+ · 4.7★ (41)
wp.org #8 9 
One Click Demo Import 1M+ · 4.3★ (79) host-installed base
wp.org #6 3 too high 10 
Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641)
wp.org #11 1 too low 11 
Two Factor 100K+ · 4.7★ (209)
wp.org #20 9 too low 12 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778)
wp.org #23 11 too low 13 
Visitor Traffic Real Time Statistics 30K+ · 4.1★ (233)
wp.org #17 4 too low 14 
WP Date and Time Shortcode 10K+ · 4.9★ (31)
wp.org #12 2 too high 15 
Real-Time Find and Replace 70K+ · 4.5★ (82)
wp.org #15 ↓1 16 
Reading Time WP 20K+ · 4.8★ (20) thin reviews
wp.org #10 6 too high 17 
All-in-One Video Gallery – Video Player & Galleries for YouTube, Vimeo & Self-Hosted Videos 20K+ · 4.8★ (136)
wp.org #22 ↓1 5 too low 18 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #21 3 too low 19 
Art WooCommerce Order One Click 4K+ · 5.0★ (36)
wp.org #18 1 too high 20 
Schema – All In One Schema Rich Snippets 30K+ · 4.0★ (162)
wp.org #24 ↓2 4 too low 21 
All In One Login 60K+ · 3.6★ (35)
wp.org #13 8 too high 22 O One Time Login 40K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #5 17 too high 23 
Intranet & Private Site – All-In-One Intranet 3K+ · 5.0★ (11) thin reviews
wp.org #19 4 too high 24 
All in One Time Clock Lite – Tracking Employee Time Has Never Been Easier 500+ · 4.6★ (8) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #14 ↓1 10 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.