wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “post gallery”
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 gallery”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 4 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
Document Gallery shows at wp.org #15 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 8K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.8★ average from 112 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Photo Gallery by Supsystic – Image Gallery, Masonry, Albums & Lightbox places #12 on merit, 4.6★ from 498 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery 300K+ · 4.3★ (4342) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #1 2 
Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616)
wp.org #2 3 
Robo Gallery – Photo & Image Slider 40K+ · 4.3★ (406)
wp.org #3 ↑16 4 
Slider, Gallery, and Carousel by MetaSlider – Image Slider, Video Slider 500K+ · 4.6★ (742)
wp.org #4 5 
Envira Gallery – Image Photo Gallery, Albums, Video Gallery, Slideshows & More 100K+ · 4.7★ (1596)
wp.org #6 ↓3 1 too low 6 
Social Feed Gallery 80K+ · 4.5★ (303)
wp.org #5 ↑3 1 too high 7 
Photo Gallery by 10Web – Mobile-Friendly Image Gallery 100K+ · 4.5★ (1581) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #7 ↑2 8 
FooGallery Photo Gallery : Image, Video & Masonry Galleries 100K+ · 4.8★ (995) not PHP-current
wp.org #9 ↓4 1 too low 9 
SimpLy Gallery 40K+ · 4.8★ (118)
wp.org #8 ↓2 1 too high 10 
Meow Gallery 10K+ · 4.9★ (203)
wp.org #10 ↓3 11 
Portfolio Filter Gallery – Photo Gallery 20K+ · 4.8★ (348)
wp.org #11 12 Photo Gallery by Supsystic – Image Gallery, Masonry, Albums & Lightbox 20K+ · 4.6★ (498)
wp.org #17 ↓5 5 too low 13 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #13 ↑5 14 
Lightbox for Gallery & Image Block 20K+ · 5.0★ (88)
wp.org #14 ↓1 15 
Justified Gallery 8K+ · 4.9★ (206)
wp.org #16 ↓2 1 too low 16 
Ultimate Post Kit – Elementor Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider & Blog Layout Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (58)
wp.org #12 ↓1 4 too high 17 
Gallery Custom Links 30K+ · 4.7★ (208)
wp.org #20 ↓10 3 too low 18 
The Post Grid – Shortcode, Gutenberg Blocks and Elementor Addon for Post Grid 100K+ · 4.8★ (265)
wp.org #21 ↓1 3 too low 19 
Gallery PhotoBlocks 3K+ · 5.0★ (76)
wp.org #18 ↓3 1 too high 20 
Photo Gallery – GT3 Image Gallery & Gutenberg Block Gallery 10K+ · 4.8★ (147) not PHP-current
wp.org #19 ↓2 1 too high 21 Document Gallery 8K+ · 4.8★ (112) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #15 6 too high 22 
Variation Images Gallery for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (39)
wp.org #22 ↓1 23 
Filter Gallery 3K+ · 4.6★ (22) thin reviews
wp.org #23 ↑1 24 
Easy Image Gallery 4K+ · 4.6★ (41) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #24 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.