Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “pinning plugins”

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 “pinning plugins”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Instant Breaking News shows at wp.org #8 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 60+ 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

WP Data Access – App Builder for Tables, Forms, Dashboards, Charts & Maps places #4 on merit, 4.9★ from 88 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 wp.org
1 WP Recipe Maker 50K+ · 5.0★ (356) wp.org #6 ↑1 5 too low 2 Simple Share Buttons Adder 40K+ · 4.3★ (627) wp.org #10 ↑1 8 too low 3 BugHerd 3K+ · 3.5★ (4) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 WP Data Access – App Builder for Tables, Forms, Dashboards, Charts & Maps 10K+ · 4.9★ (88) wp.org #17 ↑1 13 too low 5 Yatra – Travel Booking & Tour Operator Software 600+ · 4.7★ (23) wp.org #9 ↑1 4 too low 6 FluentCommunity – Ultra-Fast High-Performance Social Network, Community, LMS & Online Courses 8K+ · 4.8★ (96) wp.org #12 6 too low 7 Sticky Comment 40+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #2 5 too high 8 Lazy load videos and sticky control 80+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #5 ↑1 3 too high 9 Custom Related Posts 3K+ · 4.9★ (46) wp.org #22 ↓1 13 too low 10 Animatikon – Scroll Animations & Motion Effects 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #3 7 too high 11 Poly Pin Manager 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #4 ↑1 7 too high 12 WPGraphQL Smart Cache 5K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #13 1 too low 13 SwiftSearch for Typesense 10+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #11 ↓7 2 too high 14 PinnerPress – Customizable Pin Buttons for Pinterest Creators 200+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 ↑1 7 too high 15 Scrollzee – Video Scroll 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 1 too high 16 Periscope – Custom Dashboard News Widget 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 1 too high 17 Instant Breaking News 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 ↑1 9 too high 18 External Image Importer – Import Remote Images to the Media Library 70+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 2 too high 19 Simple Pin It Button 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓1 1 too high 20 SwiftSearch for Algolia — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 21 Miroir Local Sync 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 22 PinSwitch User Switcher — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓1 1 too low 23 Quick-Launch Dashboard Dock – Fast WP Admin Shortcuts & Floating Dashboard Navigation — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓1 1 too low 24 Version Locker: Disable Updates, Rollback and Downgrade 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 5 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.