wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “opened”
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 “opened”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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
Website Open/Closed Toggle shows at wp.org #5 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 19 places. Its 500+ 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
Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty places #11 on merit, 5.0★ from 1244 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
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 #1 2 
FluentCRM – Email Newsletter, Automation, Email Marketing, Email Campaigns, Optins, Leads, and CRM Solution 80K+ · 4.8★ (250)
wp.org #2 ↑1 3 
301 Redirects – Redirect Manager 300K+ · 4.7★ (578)
wp.org #3 ↓1 4 
Photonic Gallery & Lightbox for Flickr, SmugMug & Others 10K+ · 4.8★ (193)
wp.org #4 ↑1 5 
Simple Share Buttons Adder 40K+ · 4.3★ (627)
wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too low 6 
Slider, Gallery, and Carousel by MetaSlider – Image Slider, Video Slider 500K+ · 4.6★ (743)
wp.org #8 2 too low 7 
YaySMTP – WP Mail SMTP with Email Logs, Tracking & Reports 10K+ · 4.9★ (45)
wp.org #7 ↑2 8 
WP Mobile Menu – The Mobile-Friendly Responsive Menu 70K+ · 4.7★ (256)
wp.org #11 ↓5 3 too low 9 
Email Marketing for WooCommerce by Omnisend 40K+ · 4.9★ (169)
wp.org #12 ↑4 3 too low 10 
Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528)
wp.org #14 ↓3 4 too low 11 Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty 300K+ · 5.0★ (1244)
wp.org #19 ↓1 8 too low 12 
Easy WP SMTP – WordPress SMTP and Email Logs: Gmail SMTP, Office 365, Outlook, Custom SMTP, and more 500K+ · 4.6★ (709)
wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too low 13 
301 Redirects & 404 Error Log 30K+ · 4.6★ (28)
wp.org #9 ↑1 4 too high 14 
Pricing Table by Supsystic – Responsive Pricing Plans & Comparison Tables 10K+ · 4.1★ (288)
wp.org #18 4 too low 15 
Newsletters, Email Marketing, SMS and Popups by Omnisend 100K+ · 4.8★ (17) thin reviews
wp.org #13 ↓1 2 too high 16 
Kaya QR Code Generator 10K+ · 4.4★ (38)
wp.org #17 ↑5 1 too low 17 
YaMaps for WordPress Plugin 10K+ · 4.8★ (40)
wp.org #21 4 too low 18 
WP fail2ban – Advanced Security 60K+ · 4.2★ (71)
wp.org #24 6 too low 19 
Super Advent Calendar 300+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #10 ↑11 9 too high 20 T Themify Popup 8K+ · 4.9★ (11) thin reviews
wp.org #20 ↓3 21 
CatFolders – WordPress Media Library Folders & Categories 6K+ · 4.3★ (22) thin reviews
wp.org #22 ↓3 1 too low 22 
Accordions – Responsive Accordion & FAQ Plugin for WordPress 1K+ · 4.6★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #23 1 too low 23 
Crowdsignal Dashboard – Polls, Surveys & more 200K+ · 2.7★ (34)
wp.org #15 ↓2 8 too high 24 Website Open/Closed Toggle 500+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #5 ↓1 19 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.