Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 filter”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

Better Post & Filter Widgets for Elementor shows at wp.org #13 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 4K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 18 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 1281 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 Filter Everything — WordPress & WooCommerce Filters 50K+ · 4.6★ (154) wp.org #1 2 Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 YMC Filter 4K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too high 5 Product Filter for WooCommerce by WBW 50K+ · 4.8★ (325) wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too low 6 HUSKY – Products Filter for WooCommerce Professional. MCP is onboard 80K+ · 4.6★ (337) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Category AJAX Filter – Posts, Custom Post Types & Product Filter 6K+ · 4.9★ (158) wp.org #7 ↑1 8 Search & Filter 40K+ · 4.5★ (175) wp.org #9 1 too low 9 Business Directory Plugin – Easy Listing & Member Directories for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (504) wp.org #12 ↑5 3 too low 10 Portfolio Filter Gallery – Photo Gallery 20K+ · 4.8★ (348) wp.org #14 4 too low 11 Plugin Load Filter 7K+ · 4.8★ (52) wp.org #8 ↓2 3 too high 12 Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #17 ↑3 5 too low 13 Blog Filter – Post Grid Filter by Category or Tag 7K+ · 4.9★ (81) wp.org #10 ↑1 3 too high 14 Payment Plugins for Stripe WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.8★ (303) wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too high 15 BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) wp.org #19 4 too low 16 GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) wp.org #20 ↓2 4 too low 17 GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #22 ↓1 5 too low 18 Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641) wp.org #24 ↓1 6 too low 19 Plugin Organizer 10K+ · 4.7★ (227) wp.org #21 ↑3 2 too low 20 Filter Gallery 3K+ · 4.6★ (22) wp.org #15 5 too high 21 Better Post & Filter Widgets for Elementor 4K+ · 5.0★ (18) wp.org #13 8 too high 22 WP Maps – Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, Mapbox, Store Locator with Search, Filters & Listings 60K+ · 4.3★ (122) wp.org #18 ↑1 4 too high 23 Plugin Groups 1K+ · 4.3★ (31) wp.org #16 7 too high 24 Themify – WooCommerce Product Filter 20K+ · 3.5★ (72) wp.org #23 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.