wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “plugin version”
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 version”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 2 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
PHP Version shows at wp.org #4 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 20 places. Its 6K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 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 #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 2470 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. 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 
Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667)
wp.org #2 3 
Download Plugin 60K+ · 4.5★ (27)
wp.org #3 ↓1 4 
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281)
wp.org #9 ↑2 5 too low 5 
Payment Plugins for Stripe WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.8★ (303) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #5 6 
Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #6 ↓2 7 
Beaver Builder Page Builder – Drag and Drop Website Builder 100K+ · 4.7★ (394)
wp.org #12 ↑3 5 too low 8 
BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) not PHP-current
wp.org #8 ↓1 9 
WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228)
wp.org #14 ↓2 5 too low 10 WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470)
wp.org #18 ↑1 8 too low 11 
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 #11 ↓1 12 
FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410)
wp.org #13 ↓4 1 too low 13 
GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155)
wp.org #10 ↓2 3 too high 14 
Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397)
wp.org #17 ↑1 3 too low 15 
Version Info – Server Health Monitor, PHP & MySQL Version Display, Environment Indicators 10K+ · 5.0★ (15) thin reviews
wp.org #7 ↓1 8 too high 16 
WP Rollback – Rollback Plugins and Themes 200K+ · 4.9★ (215)
wp.org #20 ↓6 4 too low 17 
GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #15 ↓2 2 too high 18 
Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157)
wp.org #16 ↑4 2 too high 19 
Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641)
wp.org #21 ↑3 2 too low 20 
Plugin Organizer 10K+ · 4.7★ (227) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #19 ↓3 1 too high 21 
Payment Plugins for PayPal WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (127) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #22 1 too low 22 
Plugin Check (PCP) 10K+ · 4.5★ (36)
wp.org #24 ↓1 2 too low 23 
Better Plugin Compatibility Control 4K+ · 4.3★ (19) thin reviews
wp.org #23 ↓1 24 PHP Version 6K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #4 ↓1 20 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.