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

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 thumbs”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Solid Post Likes shows at wp.org #5 but places #13 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.8★ average from 9 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Product Feed PRO for WooCommerce by AdTribes – Product Feeds for WooCommerce places #11 on merit, 4.7★ from 1071 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 signals wp.org

Rate My Post – Star Rating Plugin by FeedbackWP 20K+ · 4.7★ (159) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #1 ↑2 2

Ultimate Post Kit – Elementor Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider & Blog Layout Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (58) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 F Featured Image Admin Thumb 20K+ · 4.7★ (40) wp.org #3 ↓1 4

WebberZone Top 10 — Popular Posts 10K+ · 4.6★ (102) wp.org #4 5

RSS Aggregator by Feedzy – Feed to Post, Autoblogging, News & YouTube Video Feeds Aggregator 40K+ · 4.6★ (361) wp.org #10 5 too low 6

Category Posts Block 40K+ · 4.5★ (79) wp.org #7 1 too low 7

Prime Slider – Hero Slider, Carousel, WooCommerce & Post Slider Elementor Addons 100K+ · 4.5★ (82) wp.org #8 ↑1 9

DearFlip – PDF Flipbook, 3D Flipbook, PDF embed, PDF viewer 200K+ · 4.9★ (194) wp.org #14 5 too low 10

Video Conferencing with Zoom 10K+ · 4.8★ (217) wp.org #15 5 too low 11

Product Feed PRO for WooCommerce by AdTribes – Product Feeds for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.7★ (1071) wp.org #20 9 too low 12

FooGallery Photo Gallery : Image, Video & Masonry Galleries 100K+ · 4.8★ (995) not PHP-current wp.org #16 4 too low 13

Solid Post Likes 500+ · 4.8★ (9) thin reviews wp.org #5 8 too high 14

CC Child Pages 9K+ · 4.9★ (49) wp.org #13 1 too high 15

ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #23 ↑1 8 too low 16

Inactive Logout 10K+ · 4.8★ (106) wp.org #19 3 too low 17

Posts Like Dislike 5K+ · 4.3★ (23) thin reviews wp.org #9 ↓1 8 too high 18

Sina Extension for Elementor 40K+ · 4.9★ (35) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #11 7 too high 19

Kama Thumbnail 8K+ · 4.7★ (15) thin reviews wp.org #12 7 too high 20

Audio Player Block – Advanced Block for Embedding Audio Files 2K+ · 5.0★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #18 2 too high 21

WooSwipe WooCommerce Gallery 3K+ · 4.5★ (39) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #24 ↓1 3 too low 22

Display Posts As List, Grid, Thumbs 800+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #17 5 too high 23

Most And Least Read Posts Widget 900+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #22 1 too high 24

User Post Collections 20+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #21 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.