wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “oxygen”

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 “oxygen”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

Editor Cleanup For Oxygen: FDP add-on to cleanup the Oxygen editor shows at wp.org #2 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 19 places. Its 90+ 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

Use Any Font | Custom Font Uploader places #8 on merit, 4.7★ from 1148 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #3 ↓1 2 too low 2

SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO 300K+ · 4.8★ (1267) wp.org #4 ↑1 2 too low 3

Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418) wp.org #7 4 too low 4

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 #6 ↓2 2 too low 5

Media Cleaner: Delete Unused Images & Clean Your Media Library 90K+ · 4.6★ (779) wp.org #12 ↓2 7 too low 6

Depicter — Popup & Slider Builder 70K+ · 4.6★ (235) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #8 ↑3 2 too low 7

Site Reviews 60K+ · 4.9★ (376) wp.org #16 9 too low 8

Use Any Font | Custom Font Uploader 200K+ · 4.7★ (1148) wp.org #18 ↑3 10 too low 9

Variation Swatches for WooCommerce – Color, Image & Size Swatches 200K+ · 4.6★ (51) wp.org #9 ↓6 10

Filter Everything — WordPress & WooCommerce Filters 50K+ · 4.6★ (154) wp.org #14 ↓5 4 too low 11

Directorist: AI-Powered Business Directory, Listings & Classified Ads 20K+ · 4.6★ (698) not PHP-current wp.org #15 ↑2 4 too low 12

GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #11 ↑1 1 too high 13

Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #19 6 too low 14

Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty 300K+ · 5.0★ (1244) wp.org #24 10 too low 15

Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #10 ↑3 5 too high 16

OMGF | GDPR/DSGVO Compliant, Faster Google Fonts. Easy. 300K+ · 4.7★ (213) wp.org #17 ↑1 1 too low 17

Ajax Search Lite – Live Search & Filter 70K+ · 4.8★ (266) wp.org #21 4 too low 18

UsersWP – Front-end login form, User Registration, User Profile & Members Directory plugin for WP 20K+ · 4.7★ (183) wp.org #23 5 too low 19

Oxygen MyData for WooCommerce 400+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #1 ↑7 18 too high 20

Core Framework 10K+ · 5.0★ (41) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #13 ↑1 7 too high 21

Editor Cleanup For Oxygen: FDP add-on to cleanup the Oxygen editor 90+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #2 ↓1 19 too high 22

Content Update Scheduler 2K+ · 4.3★ (12) thin reviews wp.org #20 2 too high 23

Figma to Oxygen Builder – ready→made WordPress Integration 100+ · 3.0★ (2) thin reviewslow rating, top placement wp.org #5 ↑1 18 too high 24

SS Dynamic Filter for Oxygen 10+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #22 ↑1 2 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.