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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “orphaned data”

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 “orphaned data”, 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 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

CodingBunny Database Cleaner shows at wp.org #5 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 200+ 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

Orphans places #11 on merit, 5.0★ from 164 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 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #1 2 Advanced Database Cleaner – Optimize & Clean Database to Speed Up Site Performance 100K+ · 4.9★ (1962) wp.org #2 3 Database Cleaner: Cleanup, Optimization & Repair 10K+ · 5.0★ (150) wp.org #3 4 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #4 5 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #7 ↑1 2 too low 6 WP-Sweep 100K+ · 4.7★ (138) wp.org #6 ↓1 7 Search Regex 100K+ · 4.7★ (101) wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too low 8 WP Reset 300K+ · 4.8★ (1014) wp.org #14 ↓1 6 too low 9 Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #13 ↑3 4 too low 10 Stream – Activity Log & Audit Trail 70K+ · 4.3★ (76) wp.org #10 11 Orphans 50K+ · 5.0★ (164) wp.org #21 ↑1 10 too low 12 WPS Cleaner 10K+ · 4.3★ (99) wp.org #15 ↓1 3 too low 13 LWS Cleaner 20K+ · 4.8★ (16) wp.org #9 4 too high 14 Export Media URLs 7K+ · 5.0★ (29) wp.org #12 2 too high 15 WP Bulk Delete 90K+ · 4.6★ (131) wp.org #19 4 too low 16 Antispam Bee 700K+ · 4.8★ (226) wp.org #20 4 too low 17 Easy Actions Scheduler Cleaner 900+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #11 6 too high 18 CodingBunny Database Cleaner 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 ↑1 13 too high 19 Publish kintone data 50+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #18 1 too high 20 SweepPress: Website Cleanup and Optimization 500+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #24 ↓1 4 too low 21 Hungry Resource Monitor 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 ↓1 5 too high 22 Compromise Scanner for wp2shell 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 ↓1 23 Resetify – Advanced Reset & Database Cleaner 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 6 too high 24 Init Reading Position – Remember, Return, Continue 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↑1 1 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.