wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “plugin status 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 status filter”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20.
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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.
Ranked above its merit
Filter Gallery shows at wp.org #11 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.6★ average from 22 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 #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Filter Everything — WordPress & WooCommerce Filters 50K+ · 4.6★ (154)
wp.org #1 2 
UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8709)
wp.org #2 3 
Product Filter for WooCommerce by WBW 50K+ · 4.8★ (325)
wp.org #3 ↑2 4 
Category AJAX Filter – Posts, Custom Post Types & Product Filter 6K+ · 4.9★ (158)
wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5 
Plugin Load Filter 7K+ · 4.8★ (52)
wp.org #4 1 too high 6 
Payment Plugins for Stripe WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.8★ (303)
wp.org #7 1 too low 7 
Business Directory Plugin – Easy Listing & Member Directories for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (504)
wp.org #9 2 too low 8 
BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323)
wp.org #8 ↑2 9 
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281)
wp.org #12 ↑1 3 too low 10 
GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708)
wp.org #14 ↓2 4 too low 11 
Plugin Groups 1K+ · 4.3★ (31)
wp.org #6 ↑2 5 too high 12 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397)
wp.org #17 ↑4 5 too low 13 
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #20 ↓4 7 too low 14 
Archive Content with Archived Post Status 5K+ · 4.9★ (36)
wp.org #10 ↑7 4 too high 15 
Payment Plugins for PayPal WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (127)
wp.org #16 1 too low 16 
GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155)
wp.org #13 ↓4 3 too high 17 
Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167)
wp.org #21 4 too low 18 
Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641)
wp.org #18 ↓4 19 Filter Gallery 3K+ · 4.6★ (22) thin reviews
wp.org #11 8 too high 20 
Better Post & Filter Widgets for Elementor 4K+ · 5.0★ (18) thin reviews
wp.org #15 5 too high 21 
Plugin Check (PCP) 10K+ · 4.5★ (36)
wp.org #19 ↓4 2 too high 22 
WP Plugin Manager – Deactivate plugins per page 3K+ · 4.4★ (23) thin reviews
wp.org #22 ↑2 23 
Scheduled & Automatic Order Status Controller for WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (11) thin reviews
wp.org #23 ↓4 24 
Extended Post Status 1K+ · 4.5★ (11) thin reviews
wp.org #24 ↓4 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.