Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “per post”

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 “per post”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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

Duplicate Post – duplicate pages, copy content, clone posts shows at wp.org #10 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 5K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.7★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager places #9 on merit, 5.0★ from 1525 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296) wp.org #1 2 Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276) wp.org #2 ↑2 3 Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1236) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (587) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too high 6 The Post Grid – Shortcode, Gutenberg Blocks and Elementor Addon for Post Grid 100K+ · 4.8★ (265) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too low 7 Post Duplicator 200K+ · 4.8★ (80) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too high 8 Ultimate Post Kit – Elementor Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider & Blog Layout Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (58) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1525) wp.org #15 6 too low 10 Smart Post – Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider Gutenberg Blocks for Blog & News 20K+ · 4.7★ (210) wp.org #11 ↓2 1 too low 11 Rate My Post – Star Rating Plugin by FeedbackWP 20K+ · 4.7★ (159) wp.org #9 ↓1 2 too high 12 Post Slider and Post Carousel with Post Vertical Scrolling Widget – A Responsive Post Slider 10K+ · 4.7★ (31) wp.org #13 ↓2 1 too low 13 WP Popular Posts 100K+ · 4.5★ (249) wp.org #22 ↓11 9 too low 14 AnWP Post Grid and Post Carousel Slider for Elementor 20K+ · 4.9★ (84) wp.org #21 7 too low 15 Pay For Post with WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.7★ (53) wp.org #12 ↓2 3 too high 16 P Posts 2 Posts 9K+ · 4.8★ (101) wp.org #23 ↓2 7 too low 17 W4 Post List 3K+ · 4.7★ (94) wp.org #24 ↓2 7 too low 18 MWW Scheduled Post Trigger 60K+ · 4.4★ (27) wp.org #19 ↓2 1 too low 19 Hide Posts 20K+ · 4.7★ (22) wp.org #20 1 too low 20 Duplicate Post – duplicate pages, copy content, clone posts 5K+ · 4.7★ (7) wp.org #10 10 too high 21 Solid Post Likes 500+ · 4.8★ (9) wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too high 22 Advanced Post Block – Display Your Posts Exactly How You Want 10K+ · 4.2★ (17) wp.org #16 ↓1 6 too high 23 Number of Products per Page – Pagination Manager for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #18 ↓1 5 too high 24 P Post Terms Order – per Post based 2K+ · 3.0★ (7) wp.org #14 ↓2 10 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.