wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “post tag”
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 tag”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 3 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
Metronet Tag Manager shows at wp.org #8 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 20K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.8★ average from 8 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 #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 7519 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155)
wp.org #1 2 
Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296)
wp.org #2 3 
Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588)
wp.org #4 1 too low 4 
Yoast Duplicate Post 3M+ · 4.7★ (538) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #3 1 too high 5 
Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012)
wp.org #6 ↑2 1 too low 6 
Meta Tag Manager 70K+ · 4.8★ (84) not PHP-current
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 #12 ↓1 5 too low 8 
Ultimate Post Kit – Elementor Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider & Blog Layout Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (58)
wp.org #9 ↑1 1 too low 9 
Post Type Switcher 200K+ · 4.8★ (255)
wp.org #13 ↑8 4 too low 10 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519)
wp.org #18 ↓4 8 too low 11 
Post Duplicator 200K+ · 4.8★ (80)
wp.org #10 ↓4 1 too high 12 
Polylang 900K+ · 4.7★ (3004)
wp.org #17 5 too low 13 P Post Tags and Categories for Pages 20K+ · 4.8★ (23) thin reviews
wp.org #7 6 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 
PublishPress Tag Groups: Stylish Displays For Your Tags and Categories 3K+ · 4.8★ (57)
wp.org #11 ↑4 4 too high 16 
PixelYourSite – Your smart PIXEL (TAG) & API Manager 400K+ · 4.3★ (281)
wp.org #14 ↓2 2 too high 17 
Smart Post – Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider Gutenberg Blocks for Blog & News 20K+ · 4.7★ (210) heavy footprint
wp.org #16 ↓3 1 too high 18 
Social Preview and Open Graph Tags 50K+ · 4.6★ (122)
wp.org #19 ↑5 1 too low 19 
Post Grid 30K+ · 4.3★ (163)
wp.org #22 ↑1 3 too low 20 
Custom Post Type Permalinks 200K+ · 4.8★ (71)
wp.org #20 21 Metronet Tag Manager 20K+ · 4.8★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #8 ↑1 13 too high 22 
Post Slider and Post Carousel with Post Vertical Scrolling Widget – A Responsive Post Slider 10K+ · 4.7★ (31)
wp.org #23 ↓1 1 too low 23 
Duplicate Post – duplicate pages, copy content, clone posts 5K+ · 4.7★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #15 8 too high 24 
Auto Tag Creator – Automatic Tags for Posts and WooCommerce Products 1K+ · 4.5★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↓3 3 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.