Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 visibility”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Menu Visibility Control shows at wp.org #8 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 700+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

User Menus – Nav Menu Visibility places #12 on merit, 5.0★ from 1281 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #1 2 Block Visibility — Conditional Visibility Control for the Block Editor 40K+ · 4.9★ (108) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 Visibility Logic for Elementor 20K+ · 4.8★ (58) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7520) wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too low 5 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #10 ↑1 5 too low 6 BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too high 7 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #9 ↑1 2 too low 8 Dynamic Visibility for Elementor 50K+ · 4.6★ (89) wp.org #4 ↓1 4 too high 9 GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too high 10 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #14 ↑1 4 too low 11 SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO 300K+ · 4.8★ (1267) wp.org #16 ↑2 5 too low 12 User Menus – Nav Menu Visibility 80K+ · 5.0★ (1281) wp.org #22 ↓3 10 too low 13 Content Visibility for Divi Builder 2K+ · 4.8★ (101) wp.org #12 ↓3 1 too high 14 GeoDirectory – WP Business Directory Plugin and Classified Listings Directory 10K+ · 4.8★ (716) wp.org #21 ↑1 7 too low 15 PublishPress Blocks – Block Controls, Block Visibility, Block Permissions 20K+ · 4.7★ (204) wp.org #23 ↓3 8 too low 16 Product Visibility by User Role for WooCommerce 6K+ · 3.8★ (21) wp.org #11 ↓3 5 too high 17 VigIA – AI Visibility, Analytics & Control 2K+ · 5.0★ (19) wp.org #19 ↑4 2 too low 18 Widget Visibility Time Scheduler 1K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #13 ↓1 5 too high 19 Menu Visibility Control 700+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #8 ↓1 11 too high 20 Plugin Compatibility Checker 9K+ · 4.2★ (12) wp.org #17 3 too high 21 Widget Visibility Control 200+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #18 ↓4 3 too high 22 Visibility Controls for Editor Blocks 900+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #15 ↓2 7 too high 23 Osom Block Visibility 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #20 ↓4 3 too high 24 Product Visibility by Country for WooCommerce 400+ · 4.3★ (4) wp.org #24 ↓3

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.