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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “pick list”

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 “pick list”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 4 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

Description List Block shows at wp.org #7 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 400+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.3★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Poptin – Email Marketing Automation, Newsletter & Exit Pop Ups, Email Popups places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 701 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 W4 Post List 3K+ · 4.7★ (94) wp.org #1 2 Rich Showcase for Google Reviews 100K+ · 4.9★ (1623) wp.org #8 6 too low 3 Dashboard To-Do List 1K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #11 7 too low 5 Geolocation IP Detection 20K+ · 4.7★ (59) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312) wp.org #13 ↑1 7 too low 7 Poptin – Email Marketing Automation, Newsletter & Exit Pop Ups, Email Popups 20K+ · 4.9★ (701) wp.org #16 ↓1 9 too low 8 Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) wp.org #10 ↓3 2 too low 9 PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #18 ↓6 9 too low 10 Users Registration Date – Sortable Users Column 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #3 7 too high 11 Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1463) wp.org #15 4 too low 12 Optin Forms – Simple List Building Plugin for WordPress 2K+ · 4.6★ (72) wp.org #12 ↓2 13 L List View Google Calendar 400+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #5 8 too high 14 FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410) wp.org #21 7 too low 15 Table of Contents Plus – Automatic Table of Contents for Posts & Pages 200K+ · 4.5★ (187) wp.org #19 ↓1 4 too low 16 Filter Everything — WordPress & WooCommerce Filters 50K+ · 4.6★ (154) wp.org #22 ↓3 6 too low 17 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #14 ↓1 3 too high 18 Colored Admin Post List 400+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #4 14 too high 19 YITH WooCommerce Waitlist 3K+ · 3.2★ (26) wp.org #9 10 too high 20 FluentAuth – Login Security, Two-Factor Authentication, Passkeys & Social Login 10K+ · 4.1★ (35) wp.org #24 4 too low 21 Subscriptions for WooCommerce with Stripe Recurring Payments 1K+ · 4.9★ (25) wp.org #23 2 too low 22 AI Infographic Maker 600+ · 4.4★ (17) wp.org #20 ↓3 2 too high 23 AutoListicle: Automatically Update Numbered List Articles 60+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #17 ↓1 6 too high 24 Description List Block 400+ · 2.3★ (3) wp.org #7 17 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.