wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “post meta”
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 meta”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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
Duplicate Post – duplicate pages, copy content, clone posts shows at wp.org #10 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 5K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.7★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 7519 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Meta Box – A Framework for Dynamic Websites 500K+ · 4.8★ (165)
wp.org #1 2 
Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276)
wp.org #2 ↑2 3 
Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (587)
wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821)
wp.org #6 ↑3 2 too low 5 
JSM Show Post Metadata 10K+ · 5.0★ (12) thin reviews
wp.org #3 ↓1 2 too high 6 
Meta Tag Manager 70K+ · 4.8★ (84) not PHP-current
wp.org #5 1 too high 7 W WP Meta and Date Remover 80K+ · 4.2★ (71)
wp.org #7 ↓1 8 
Post Type Switcher 200K+ · 4.8★ (255)
wp.org #14 ↑5 6 too low 9 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519)
wp.org #19 ↓3 10 too low 10 
Meta Field Block – Display Custom Fields for ACF, Meta Box and More 10K+ · 5.0★ (57) not PHP-current
wp.org #9 ↑3 1 too high 11 
Import and export users and customers 70K+ · 4.7★ (259)
wp.org #16 ↓2 5 too low 12 
Post Duplicator 200K+ · 4.8★ (80)
wp.org #12 ↓5 13 
Public Post Preview 100K+ · 4.6★ (79)
wp.org #13 ↓2 14 
Post Meta Data Manager 1K+ · 5.0★ (15) thin reviews
wp.org #8 6 too high 15 
Smart Post – Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider Gutenberg Blocks for Blog & News 20K+ · 4.7★ (210) heavy footprint
wp.org #17 2 too low 16 
Head Meta Data 10K+ · 4.8★ (19) thin reviews
wp.org #11 ↓1 5 too high 17 
Post Grid 30K+ · 4.3★ (163)
wp.org #21 ↑2 4 too low 18 
Rate My Post – Star Rating Plugin by FeedbackWP 20K+ · 4.7★ (159) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #15 3 too high 19 
All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #23 ↓8 4 too low 20 
Post Slider and Post Carousel with Post Vertical Scrolling Widget – A Responsive Post Slider 10K+ · 4.7★ (31)
wp.org #18 2 too high 21 Duplicate Post – duplicate pages, copy content, clone posts 5K+ · 4.7★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #10 11 too high 22 
VS Meta Description 3K+ · 4.4★ (16) thin reviews
wp.org #22 23 
Better Post & Filter Widgets for Elementor 4K+ · 5.0★ (18) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #24 1 too low 24 
Kliken: Ads + Pixel for Meta 30K+ · 3.0★ (1) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #20 4 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.