wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “personal 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 “personal data”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 5 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

Personal Dictionary – Vocabulary Games, Memory Games shows at wp.org #12 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 70+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.8★ average from 8 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 1281 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1668) wp.org #2 1 too low 2

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

GDPR Data Request Form 5K+ · 4.9★ (14) thin reviews wp.org #1 2 too high 4

Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5

Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #6 ↑7 1 too low 6

The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #7 ↑3 1 too low 7

Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #4 3 too high 8

Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4358) wp.org #11 ↓6 3 too low 9

Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167) wp.org #9 ↑6 10

Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #17 ↓9 7 too low 11

Redirection for Contact Form 7 200K+ · 4.7★ (275) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #8 ↑3 3 too high 12

Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) not PHP-current wp.org #10 ↓3 2 too high 13

Cookie Compliance for WordPress – Cookie Consent, GDPR & CCPA 800K+ · 4.8★ (3026) wp.org #19 6 too low 14

Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641) wp.org #14 15

All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676) wp.org #23 ↑1 8 too low 16

Element Pack Addons for Elementor – MCP & AI-Ready Elementor Widgets, Elementor Templates, Elementor Addons 100K+ · 4.7★ (284) wp.org #21 5 too low 17

Real Cookie Banner: GDPR & ePrivacy Cookie Consent 100K+ · 4.9★ (492) not PHP-current wp.org #20 3 too low 18

WebberZone Top 10 — Popular Posts 10K+ · 4.6★ (102) wp.org #18 19

Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) not PHP-current wp.org #15 ↓6 4 too high 20

FlexTable – Data Table Sync with Google Sheets 3K+ · 4.6★ (35) wp.org #13 ↑3 7 too high 21

Tutor LMS – eLearning and online course solution 100K+ · 4.4★ (590) heavy footprint wp.org #24 ↓7 3 too low 22

Personal Dictionary – Vocabulary Games, Memory Games 70+ · 4.8★ (8) thin reviews wp.org #12 10 too high 23

WooCommerce PayPal Payments 800K+ · 2.9★ (583) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #16 7 too high 24

Free Cookie Notice & Consent Banner for Privacy Compliance (GDPR, CCPA, DSGVO and others) 7K+ · 4.0★ (16) thin reviews wp.org #22 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.