wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “paths”
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 “paths”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 3 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
WP SAML Auth shows at wp.org #14 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 7K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.5★ average from 8 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups places #6 on merit, 4.8★ from 2470 reviews, but shows at wp.org #11. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #1 2 
Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall 100K+ · 4.5★ (373)
wp.org #3 1 too low 3 
Breadcrumb NavXT 800K+ · 4.6★ (132)
wp.org #2 1 too high 4 
TranslatePress – Translate Multilingual sites with AI Translation 400K+ · 4.7★ (1667)
wp.org #7 3 too low 5 
WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346)
wp.org #6 1 too low 6 WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470)
wp.org #11 5 too low 7 
WP Original Media Path 5K+ · 4.9★ (38)
wp.org #5 2 too high 8 
All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676)
wp.org #12 ↑1 4 too low 9 
Advanced File Manager – Ultimate File Manager for WordPress And Document Library Solution 100K+ · 4.8★ (441)
wp.org #13 ↓1 4 too low 10 
GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155)
wp.org #10 ↓1 11 
Make Paths Relative 2K+ · 4.1★ (15) thin reviews
wp.org #4 7 too high 12 
WP Hide & Security Enhancer 50K+ · 4.3★ (275) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #9 ↑1 3 too high 13 
File Manager Pro – Filester 100K+ · 4.9★ (155)
wp.org #15 ↑8 2 too low 14 
Safe SVG 1M+ · 4.9★ (79) host-installed base
wp.org #8 6 too high 15 
Smart Custom 404 Error Page 100K+ · 4.9★ (1197)
wp.org #24 ↓2 9 too low 16 
Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418)
wp.org #21 ↓2 5 too low 17 
Fast Velocity Minify 30K+ · 4.6★ (195)
wp.org #20 3 too low 18 
Safe Redirect Manager 40K+ · 4.7★ (78)
wp.org #16 ↓1 2 too high 19 
404 to 301 – Redirect Manager, 301 Redirection, 404 Error Logs & 404 Monitoring 100K+ · 4.7★ (321)
wp.org #23 ↑1 4 too low 20 R Really Simple CSV Importer 40K+ · 4.9★ (107)
wp.org #22 ↓1 2 too low 21 
bbPress 100K+ · 3.9★ (343)
wp.org #19 ↓1 2 too high 22 
Ads.txt Manager 100K+ · 4.7★ (15) thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↓1 4 too high 23 WP SAML Auth 7K+ · 4.5★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #14 9 too high 24 
SiteGuard WP Plugin 600K+ · 4.3★ (15) throws errorsnot PHP-currenthost-installed base thin reviews
wp.org #17 ↓1 7 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.