wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “post duration”
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 “post duration”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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
Post Kinds shows at wp.org #13 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Appointment Hour Booking – Booking Calendar places #6 on merit, 4.9★ from 524 reviews, but shows at wp.org #10. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528)
wp.org #1 2 
Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7520)
wp.org #2 3 
GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155)
wp.org #3 4 
Simple Membership 40K+ · 4.6★ (475)
wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5 
All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720)
wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too low 6 Appointment Hour Booking – Booking Calendar 10K+ · 4.9★ (524)
wp.org #10 4 too low 7 
ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051)
wp.org #9 2 too low 8 
Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167)
wp.org #8 9 
Booking for Appointments and Events Calendar – Amelia 90K+ · 4.6★ (793)
wp.org #12 3 too low 10 
Post Views for Jetpack 1K+ · 5.0★ (13) thin reviews
wp.org #4 6 too high 11 
Page scroll to id 100K+ · 4.9★ (225)
wp.org #11 12 
Pay For Post with WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.7★ (53)
wp.org #7 ↓2 5 too high 13 
User Frontend – Membership, User Registration, User Profile, User Directory & Content Restriction with Frontend Post Submission 20K+ · 4.1★ (537)
wp.org #14 1 too low 14 
Paid Membership Subscriptions – Effortless Memberships, Recurring Payments & Content Restriction 10K+ · 4.7★ (270)
wp.org #17 3 too low 15 
WPFront Scroll Top 200K+ · 4.9★ (142)
wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too low 16 
Quiz Maker by AYS 20K+ · 4.9★ (601)
wp.org #23 7 too low 17 
Depicter — Popup & Slider Builder 70K+ · 4.6★ (236)
wp.org #18 1 too low 18 
Tutor LMS – eLearning and online course solution 100K+ · 4.4★ (590)
wp.org #24 6 too low 19 
Inactive Logout 10K+ · 4.8★ (106)
wp.org #20 1 too low 20 
Animate It! 20K+ · 4.9★ (127)
wp.org #22 ↓1 2 too low 21 
CCI Posts Carousel All In One 2K+ · 4.6★ (27)
wp.org #15 ↑1 6 too high 22 
Booking Package 10K+ · 4.0★ (15) thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↑1 1 too high 23 Post Kinds 100+ · 4.3★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #13 10 too high 24 
Mitsol Social Post Feed 200+ · 5.0★ (5) 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.