wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “posting”
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 “posting”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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
VK Google Job Posting Manager shows at wp.org #2 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 22 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk places #6 on merit, 4.8★ from 3220 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Job Postings 10K+ · 4.4★ (58)
wp.org #1 2 
Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519)
wp.org #5 3 too low 3 
Nelio Content – Editorial Calendar & Social Media Auto-Posting 3K+ · 4.4★ (104)
wp.org #3 ↑1 4 
Customer Reviews for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (1539)
wp.org #7 ↑2 3 too low 5 
Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397)
wp.org #8 ↓1 3 too low 6 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220)
wp.org #13 ↓1 7 too low 7 
Comments – wpDiscuz 60K+ · 4.7★ (581) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #9 ↓3 2 too low 8 
My Calendar – Accessible Event Manager 20K+ · 4.7★ (159)
wp.org #12 ↓2 4 too low 9 
Social Media Auto Poster – Schedule & Publish to Buffer 7K+ · 4.5★ (125)
wp.org #10 ↓2 1 too low 10 
Blog2Social: Social Media Auto Post & Scheduler 40K+ · 4.5★ (2107) not PHP-current
wp.org #15 ↓1 5 too low 11 
Nav Menu Roles 70K+ · 4.9★ (219)
wp.org #18 ↑3 7 too low 12 
AWP Classifieds 3K+ · 4.6★ (301) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #11 1 too high 13 
Postie 10K+ · 4.7★ (139) not PHP-current
wp.org #14 ↑1 1 too low 14 
Easy Post Submission – Frontend Posting, Guest Publishing & Submit Content for WordPress 4K+ · 4.5★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #4 ↓1 10 too high 15 
User Frontend – Membership, User Registration, User Profile, User Directory & Content Restriction with Frontend Post Submission 20K+ · 4.1★ (537) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #16 1 too low 16 
Post to Google My Business (Google Business Profile) 10K+ · 4.9★ (159) not PHP-current
wp.org #21 ↓3 5 too low 17 
ACF Frontend Admin by DynamiApps 8K+ · 4.5★ (160) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #20 ↓7 3 too low 18 
Bit Social – Social Media Auto Poster and Scheduler 6K+ · 4.5★ (36)
wp.org #19 ↓2 1 too low 19 
Social Post Flow – Social Media Automation, Scheduling, Scheduler, Posting & Auto Post 200+ · 4.2★ (10) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #6 13 too high 20 
Asgaros Forum 10K+ · 4.7★ (210) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #24 4 too low 21 
Schema & Structured Data for WP & AMP 100K+ · 4.5★ (252) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #23 ↓4 2 too low 22 
Guest posting / Frontend Posting / Front Editor – WP Front User Submit 100+ · 5.0★ (22) not PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #17 ↓1 5 too high 23 
Press This 5K+ · 3.7★ (25)
wp.org #22 ↓2 1 too high 24 VK Google Job Posting Manager 2K+ · 4.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #2 22 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.