Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “post like”

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 like”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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

Easy Social Like Box – Popup – Sidebar Widget shows at wp.org #8 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 6K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.4★ average from 18 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager places #10 on merit, 5.0★ from 1525 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296) wp.org #1 2 Posts Like Dislike 5K+ · 4.3★ (23) wp.org #2 3 Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276) wp.org #4 ↑2 1 too low 4 Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528) wp.org #6 ↓3 2 too low 5 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (587) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Yoast Duplicate Post 3M+ · 4.7★ (538) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 The Post Grid – Shortcode, Gutenberg Blocks and Elementor Addon for Post Grid 100K+ · 4.8★ (265) wp.org #10 3 too low 8 Solid Post Likes 500+ · 4.8★ (9) wp.org #3 ↑1 5 too high 9 Ultimate Post Kit – Elementor Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider & Blog Layout Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (58) wp.org #9 10 Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1525) wp.org #20 ↑1 10 too low 11 WP ULike – Like Buttons, Voting & Engagement Analytics 60K+ · 4.8★ (283) wp.org #15 ↓2 4 too low 12 Smart Post – Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider Gutenberg Blocks for Blog & News 20K+ · 4.7★ (210) wp.org #13 ↓1 1 too low 13 Duplicate Post 300K+ · 4.9★ (1623) wp.org #22 ↓5 9 too low 14 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #14 15 Like Button Rating ♥ LikeBtn 3K+ · 4.4★ (273) wp.org #11 4 too high 16 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #16 ↓8 17 Post Grid 30K+ · 4.3★ (163) wp.org #17 ↓1 18 Contact Form 7 10M+ · 4.0★ (2186) wp.org #19 1 too low 19 Easy Social Like Box – Popup – Sidebar Widget 6K+ · 4.4★ (18) wp.org #8 ↑1 11 too high 20 Social Like Box and Page by WpDevArt 5K+ · 4.2★ (88) wp.org #23 ↓1 3 too low 21 Display Post Types – Post Grid, post list and post sliders 8K+ · 5.0★ (26) wp.org #21 ↓1 22 Duplicate Post – duplicate pages, copy content, clone posts 5K+ · 4.7★ (7) wp.org #12 10 too high 23 Advanced Post Block – Display Your Posts Exactly How You Want 10K+ · 4.2★ (17) wp.org #24 ↓1 1 too low 24 Themify Portfolio Post 30K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 6 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.