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← Rankings

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

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 download”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Simple Download Counter shows at wp.org #12 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.9★ average from 19 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 2470 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Download Monitor 80K+ · 4.5★ (525) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Download Plugin 60K+ · 4.5★ (27) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Download Manager 100K+ · 4.1★ (1006) wp.org #3 4 Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #4 ↑1 5 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #5 ↓1 6 Simple Download Monitor 20K+ · 4.7★ (158) wp.org #7 ↑2 1 too low 7 Easy Digital Downloads – eCommerce Payments and Subscriptions made easy 40K+ · 4.7★ (591) wp.org #10 3 too low 8 Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #11 3 too low 9 Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too high 10 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #14 ↑4 4 too low 11 Download Plugins and Themes in ZIP from Dashboard 30K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #6 5 too high 12 WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470) wp.org #20 8 too low 13 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #18 ↓1 5 too low 14 Download Attachments 8K+ · 4.5★ (46) wp.org #9 ↓1 5 too high 15 BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) wp.org #13 ↑6 2 too high 16 Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #23 7 too low 17 Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167) wp.org #21 4 too low 18 GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) wp.org #17 ↓3 1 too high 19 Simple Download Counter 2K+ · 4.9★ (19) wp.org #12 ↑1 7 too high 20 Download After Email – Subscribe & Download Form Plugin 7K+ · 4.4★ (30) wp.org #16 ↓4 4 too high 21 Easy Media Download 8K+ · 4.0★ (28) wp.org #15 6 too high 22 Free Downloads WooCommerce 4K+ · 4.7★ (85) wp.org #19 ↓3 3 too high 23 Plugin Groups 1K+ · 4.3★ (31) wp.org #22 1 too high 24 WP Plugin Manager – Deactivate plugins per page 3K+ · 4.4★ (23) wp.org #24

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.