wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “plugins installation”

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 “plugins installation”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

Bulk Plugin Installation shows at wp.org #3 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.6★ average from 10 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 #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 2470 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #1 2

Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #5 ↑5 3 too low 3 U Upload Larger Plugins 6K+ · 5.0★ (20) thin reviews wp.org #2 1 too high 4

Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #6 ↑5 2 too low 5

BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) not PHP-current wp.org #4 ↑3 1 too high 6

WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #10 ↑7 4 too low 7

Freesoul Deactivate Plugins – Disable plugins on individual WordPress pages 8K+ · 4.8★ (104) wp.org #7 ↑1 8

WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470) wp.org #14 ↑2 6 too low 9

Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #11 ↑4 2 too low 10

GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #8 ↓2 2 too high 11

Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #15 ↑4 4 too low 12

WP Rollback – Rollback Plugins and Themes 200K+ · 4.9★ (215) wp.org #13 ↓4 1 too low 13

SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO 300K+ · 4.8★ (1267) wp.org #19 ↑2 6 too low 14

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5038) heavy footprint wp.org #17 ↑1 3 too low 15

Plugins Garbage Collector (Database Cleanup) 10K+ · 4.4★ (92) wp.org #12 ↑1 3 too high 16

Download Plugins and Themes in ZIP from Dashboard 30K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #9 ↑3 7 too high 17 B Bulk Plugin Installation 300+ · 3.6★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #3 ↑1 14 too high 18

Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641) wp.org #16 ↓2 2 too high 19

Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157) wp.org #18 ↑6 1 too high 20

WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #21 ↓1 1 too low 21

CartFlows – Funnel Builder & Checkout Plugin for WooCommerce 200K+ · 4.8★ (517) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #24 3 too low 22

Download Plugin 60K+ · 4.5★ (27) wp.org #20 ↑2 2 too high 23

Rename Plugins Folder 300+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #23 24

SiteGuard WP Plugin 600K+ · 4.3★ (15) throws errorsnot PHP-currenthost-installed base thin reviews wp.org #22 ↑1 2 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.