wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “post tags”
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 tags”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 5 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
Duplicate Post – duplicate pages, copy content, clone posts shows at wp.org #14 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 9 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 #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 7519 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.
Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296)
wp.org #1 2 
Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (587)
wp.org #4 2 too low 3 
Yoast Duplicate Post 3M+ · 4.7★ (538) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #2 1 too high 4 
GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155)
wp.org #3 1 too high 5 
Social Preview and Open Graph Tags 50K+ · 4.6★ (122)
wp.org #6 1 too low 6 
PublishPress Taxonomies – Tag, Category, and Taxonomy Manager – Autotagger Automatically Add Terms 40K+ · 4.6★ (195)
wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too low 7 
Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012)
wp.org #7 ↑2 8 P Post Tags and Categories for Pages 20K+ · 4.8★ (23) thin reviews
wp.org #5 3 too high 9 
The Post Grid – Shortcode, Gutenberg Blocks and Elementor Addon for Post Grid 100K+ · 4.8★ (265)
wp.org #11 ↑1 2 too low 10 
Post Type Switcher 200K+ · 4.8★ (255)
wp.org #12 ↑6 2 too low 11 
Ultimate Post Kit – Elementor Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider & Blog Layout Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (58)
wp.org #9 ↑1 2 too high 12 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519)
wp.org #17 ↓2 5 too low 13 
Post Duplicator 200K+ · 4.8★ (80)
wp.org #10 ↓2 3 too high 14 
Polylang 900K+ · 4.7★ (3004)
wp.org #16 ↑4 2 too low 15 
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821)
wp.org #21 6 too low 16 
PixelYourSite – Your smart PIXEL (TAG) & API Manager 400K+ · 4.3★ (281)
wp.org #13 ↓2 3 too high 17 
Smart Post – Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider Gutenberg Blocks for Blog & News 20K+ · 4.7★ (210) heavy footprint
wp.org #15 ↓1 2 too high 18 
The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461)
wp.org #24 6 too low 19 
Post Grid 30K+ · 4.3★ (163)
wp.org #19 ↑3 20 
Custom Post Type Permalinks 200K+ · 4.8★ (71)
wp.org #18 ↑1 2 too high 21 
Post Slider and Post Carousel with Post Vertical Scrolling Widget – A Responsive Post Slider 10K+ · 4.7★ (31)
wp.org #20 ↑3 1 too high 22 
Meta Tag Manager 70K+ · 4.8★ (84) not PHP-current
wp.org #23 ↑1 1 too low 23 Duplicate Post – duplicate pages, copy content, clone posts 5K+ · 4.7★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #14 9 too high 24 
Dynamic Tags for Elementor 700+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #22 ↓9 2 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.