wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “plugin status”
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 status”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20. 7 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
Order Status Control for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #14 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 4K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin places #11 on merit, 4.4★ from 1445 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706)
wp.org #1 2 
Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #2 ↑2 3 
Payment Plugins for Stripe WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.8★ (303) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #3 4 
Business Directory Plugin – Easy Listing & Member Directories for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (504)
wp.org #6 2 too low 5 
BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) not PHP-current
wp.org #4 ↑2 1 too high 6 
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281)
wp.org #8 ↑3 2 too low 7 
Custom Order Status Manager for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.7★ (117) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #5 2 too high 8 
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 #10 ↓3 2 too low 9 
Archive Content with Archived Post Status 5K+ · 4.9★ (36)
wp.org #7 ↑9 2 too high 10 
Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397)
wp.org #17 ↑2 7 too low 11 Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #19 ↑3 8 too low 12 
GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155)
wp.org #11 ↓3 1 too high 13 
GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #12 ↓2 1 too high 14 
Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641)
wp.org #13 ↓1 1 too high 15 
Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167)
wp.org #23 8 too low 16 
Plugin Groups 1K+ · 4.3★ (31) not PHP-current
wp.org #9 7 too high 17 
Schedule Post Changes With PublishPress Future: Unpublish, Delete, Change Status, Trash, Change Categories 100K+ · 4.5★ (172)
wp.org #22 ↓8 5 too low 18 
Payment Plugins for PayPal WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (127) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #15 3 too high 19 
Plugin Check (PCP) 10K+ · 4.5★ (36)
wp.org #16 ↓1 3 too high 20 
Scheduled & Automatic Order Status Controller for WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (11) thin reviews
wp.org #20 ↓2 21 
WP Plugin Manager – Deactivate plugins per page 3K+ · 4.4★ (23) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↑3 3 too high 22 
Extended Post Status 1K+ · 4.5★ (11) thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↓1 1 too high 23 Order Status Control for WooCommerce 4K+ · 5.0★ (4) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #14 ↓1 9 too high 24 
WP-Cron Status Checker 5K+ · 3.5★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #24 ↓1 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.