wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “open archive”
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 “open archive”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 of the top 20.
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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.
Ranked above its merit
Hide Archive Label shows at wp.org #4 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 18 places. Its 900+ 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
The SEO Framework – Fast, Automated, Effortless. places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 380 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Social Preview and Open Graph Tags 50K+ · 4.6★ (122)
wp.org #1 2 
Open User Map – Interactive Leaflet Maps 10K+ · 5.0★ (70)
wp.org #2 3 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322)
wp.org #5 2 too low 4 
JS Archive List 3K+ · 4.8★ (45)
wp.org #3 1 too high 5 
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 #9 ↓2 4 too low 6 
Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940)
wp.org #11 5 too low 7 
All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231)
wp.org #12 ↓3 5 too low 8 
Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7520)
wp.org #13 ↓1 5 too low 9 The SEO Framework – Fast, Automated, Effortless. 200K+ · 4.9★ (380)
wp.org #15 6 too low 10 
Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks 1M+ · 4.7★ (1872)
wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too low 11 
Archive Content with Archived Post Status 5K+ · 4.9★ (36)
wp.org #8 3 too high 12 
Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423)
wp.org #17 ↓7 5 too low 13 
Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205)
wp.org #19 6 too low 14 
Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1463)
wp.org #22 8 too low 15 
SureRank SEO – Meta Tags, Social Preview, XML Sitemap, Schema & Open Graph 300K+ · 4.8★ (51)
wp.org #10 ↓2 5 too high 16 
Open Graph Protocol Framework 3K+ · 4.3★ (15) thin reviews
wp.org #7 ↓1 9 too high 17 
BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323)
wp.org #23 ↓3 6 too low 18 
GenerateBlocks 200K+ · 4.9★ (122)
wp.org #21 ↓3 3 too low 19 
WP-Polls 40K+ · 4.2★ (136)
wp.org #24 ↓5 5 too low 20 
Internet Archive Wayback Machine Link Fixer 1K+ · 3.8★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #6 14 too high 21 
Xpro Theme Builder For Elementor – FREE 20K+ · 5.0★ (14) thin reviews
wp.org #20 ↑1 1 too high 22 Hide Archive Label 900+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #4 18 too high 23 
HAL 600+ · 3.5★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↓2 7 too high 24 P PTAPS – Post Type Archive Pages and Permalink Settings 80+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↓2 6 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.