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

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 updates”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 3 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

Disable Updates for WordPress Core, Plugins and Themes shows at wp.org #6 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 9K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.8★ average from 4 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 #5 on merit, 4.8★ from 2470 reviews, but shows at wp.org #12. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Easy Updates Manager 300K+ · 4.8★ (726) wp.org #1 2

UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #2 3

Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #3 4

Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #5 1 too low 5

WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470) wp.org #12 ↓2 7 too low 6

Disable All WordPress Updates 20K+ · 4.8★ (69) wp.org #7 ↑1 1 too low 7

Block Plugin Update 5K+ · 4.4★ (19) thin reviews wp.org #4 ↓1 3 too high 8

Business Directory Plugin – Easy Listing & Member Directories for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (504) wp.org #13 ↑4 5 too low 9

Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #16 7 too low 10

BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) not PHP-current wp.org #9 ↑4 1 too high 11

Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #18 ↑1 7 too low 12

Payment Plugins for Stripe WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.8★ (303) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #11 1 too high 13

Download Plugin 60K+ · 4.5★ (27) wp.org #8 ↓1 5 too high 14

WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #23 9 too low 15

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 #17 ↓3 2 too low 16

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5038) heavy footprint wp.org #21 ↓3 5 too low 17

GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #20 ↓5 3 too low 18

WP Updates Notifier 20K+ · 4.2★ (35) wp.org #15 3 too high 19

Disable Updates – Updates Manager, Disable Automatic Updates, Disable All Updates 9K+ · 4.5★ (24) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #10 ↓4 9 too high 20

Plugin Organizer 10K+ · 4.7★ (227) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #22 ↓2 2 too low 21

Disable Updates for WordPress Core, Plugins and Themes 9K+ · 4.8★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #6 ↓2 15 too high 22

Disable Auto Update Emails and Block Updates for Plugins, WP Core, and Themes 4K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #14 ↓2 8 too high 23

WP Disables Updates 700+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #24 1 too low 24

Manage Customized Plugin Updates 80+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #19 5 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.