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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “plugin control”

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 control”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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

Mediavine Control Panel shows at wp.org #16 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.2★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin places #4 on merit, 4.9★ from 1281 reviews, but shows at wp.org #9. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #1 2 Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #2 3 Business Directory Plugin – Easy Listing & Member Directories for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (504) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #9 ↓2 5 too low 5 Payment Plugins for Stripe WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.8★ (303) wp.org #5 6 Download Plugin 60K+ · 4.5★ (27) wp.org #4 ↓1 2 too high 7 Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) wp.org #7 ↓3 8 Better Plugin Compatibility Control 4K+ · 4.3★ (19) wp.org #3 ↓1 5 too high 9 Content Control – The Ultimate Content Restriction Solution! Restrict Content, Create Conditional Blocks & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (575) wp.org #12 3 too low 10 BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) wp.org #8 ↑1 2 too high 11 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #10 ↓2 1 too high 12 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #13 1 too low 13 Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641) wp.org #11 ↓1 2 too high 14 Easy Updates Manager 300K+ · 4.8★ (726) wp.org #19 ↓2 5 too low 15 GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) wp.org #15 ↓4 16 Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157) wp.org #17 ↓3 1 too low 17 Min Max Control – Min Max Quantity & Step Control for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (79) wp.org #14 ↑5 3 too high 18 Payment Plugins for PayPal WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (127) wp.org #21 ↓1 3 too low 19 Image Source Control Lite – Show Image Credits and Captions 3K+ · 4.6★ (42) wp.org #24 5 too low 20 U Update Control 4K+ · 4.4★ (17) wp.org #18 ↓2 2 too high 21 WP Plugin Manager – Deactivate plugins per page 3K+ · 4.4★ (23) wp.org #22 ↓4 1 too low 22 Mediavine Control Panel 10K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #16 ↓1 6 too high 23 Order Status Control for WooCommerce 4K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #20 ↑1 3 too high 24 Menu Visibility Control 700+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #23 ↓1 1 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.