wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “plugin admin”
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 “plugin admin”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 6 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
Enhanced Plugin Admin shows at wp.org #13 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 8 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 397 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.
Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423)
wp.org #1 2 
Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667)
wp.org #2 3 
UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706)
wp.org #3 ↑1 4 
Admin Columns 100K+ · 4.9★ (1652)
wp.org #4 ↓1 5 
Admin Menu Editor 300K+ · 4.6★ (312)
wp.org #5 ↑1 6 
Business Directory Plugin – Easy Listing & Member Directories for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (504)
wp.org #8 ↑1 2 too low 7 
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281)
wp.org #10 ↑1 3 too low 8 
Disable Admin Notices – Hide Dashboard Notifications 100K+ · 4.7★ (367)
wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too low 9 
Payment Plugins for Stripe WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.8★ (303) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #7 ↑1 2 too high 10 
Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #9 ↓2 1 too high 11 
Download Plugin 60K+ · 4.5★ (27)
wp.org #6 ↓1 5 too high 12 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397)
wp.org #16 ↑5 4 too low 13 
WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228)
wp.org #19 ↓1 6 too low 14 
Admin Custom Login 10K+ · 4.6★ (388)
wp.org #17 ↑2 3 too low 15 
BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) not PHP-current
wp.org #14 ↓1 1 too high 16 
All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #18 ↓4 2 too low 17 
Plugin Organizer 10K+ · 4.7★ (227) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #15 2 too high 18 
FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410)
wp.org #23 ↓1 5 too low 19 
BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #12 ↑4 7 too high 20 
GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #21 ↓4 1 too low 21 
Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157)
wp.org #22 1 too low 22 
Plugin Check (PCP) 10K+ · 4.5★ (36)
wp.org #24 ↓1 2 too low 23 Enhanced Plugin Admin 100+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #13 ↓1 10 too high 24 
Plugin Groups 1K+ · 4.3★ (31) not PHP-current
wp.org #20 4 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.