wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “post editor”
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 editor”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 4 of the top 20. 4 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
Classic Editor + shows at wp.org #10 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 5 places. Its 30K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.9★ average from 31 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Classic Editor 8M+ · 4.9★ (1251)
wp.org #1 2 
Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296)
wp.org #2 3 
User Role Editor 700K+ · 4.5★ (288)
wp.org #3 ↑2 4 
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281)
wp.org #6 ↑1 2 too low 5 
Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528)
wp.org #5 ↓2 6 
Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276)
wp.org #4 ↑5 2 too high 7 
Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (587)
wp.org #9 ↓3 2 too low 8 
Admin Menu Editor 300K+ · 4.6★ (312)
wp.org #8 9 
Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) heavy footprint
wp.org #7 ↑4 2 too high 10 
Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1236)
wp.org #13 3 too low 11 
Schedule Post Changes With PublishPress Future: Unpublish, Delete, Change Status, Trash, Change Categories 100K+ · 4.5★ (172)
wp.org #12 ↓2 1 too low 12 
Post Type Switcher 200K+ · 4.8★ (255)
wp.org #14 ↑4 2 too low 13 
Advanced Editor Tools 1M+ · 4.5★ (354)
wp.org #11 ↓7 2 too high 14 
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821)
wp.org #24 10 too low 15 Classic Editor + 30K+ · 4.9★ (31)
wp.org #10 ↑5 5 too high 16 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #15 ↑1 1 too high 17 
The Post Grid – Shortcode, Gutenberg Blocks and Elementor Addon for Post Grid 100K+ · 4.8★ (265)
wp.org #21 ↓1 4 too low 18 
WP Editor 20K+ · 4.5★ (95)
wp.org #17 ↓3 1 too high 19 
Post and Page Builder by BoldGrid – Visual Drag and Drop Editor 50K+ · 4.7★ (140)
wp.org #23 ↓2 4 too low 20 
Post Duplicator 200K+ · 4.8★ (80)
wp.org #18 ↓6 2 too high 21 
BEAR – Bulk Editor for WooCommerce Professional. AI assistant on board (MCP Server) 30K+ · 4.7★ (228) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #16 ↓3 5 too high 22 
Ultimate Post Kit – Elementor Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider & Blog Layout Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (58)
wp.org #20 ↓3 2 too high 23 
Public Post Preview 100K+ · 4.6★ (79)
wp.org #22 ↓3 1 too high 24 
Rate My Post – Star Rating Plugin by FeedbackWP 20K+ · 4.7★ (159) throws errorsnot PHP-current
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.