wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “posts overview”

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 “posts overview”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 5 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

External Links Overview shows at wp.org #7 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP RSS Aggregator – RSS Import, Feed to Post, Autoblogging, AI Content places #11 on merit, 4.5★ from 565 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

SchedulePress – Auto Post & Publish, Auto Social Share, Schedule Posts with Editorial Calendar & Missed Schedule Post Publisher 10K+ · 4.6★ (201) wp.org #3 2 too low 2

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 #5 3 too low 3

Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) not PHP-current wp.org #4 1 too low 4

Mark Posts 1K+ · 4.8★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #2 2 too high 5

The Post Grid – Shortcode, Gutenberg Blocks and Elementor Addon for Post Grid 100K+ · 4.8★ (265) wp.org #9 4 too low 6

Schedule Post Changes With PublishPress Future: Unpublish, Delete, Change Status, Trash, Change Categories 100K+ · 4.5★ (172) wp.org #8 2 too low 7

The SEO Framework – Fast, Automated, Effortless. 200K+ · 4.9★ (380) not PHP-current wp.org #10 3 too low 8

WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (758) wp.org #12 4 too low 9

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #11 ↑1 2 too low 10

WP RSS Aggregator – RSS Import, Feed to Post, Autoblogging, AI Content 40K+ · 4.5★ (565) wp.org #16 ↓1 5 too low 12

Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167) wp.org #14 ↑6 2 too low 13

RSS Aggregator by Feedzy – Feed to Post, Autoblogging, News & YouTube Video Feeds Aggregator 40K+ · 4.6★ (361) wp.org #17 ↑1 4 too low 14

Stock Market Overview 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #1 13 too high 15

WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1916) wp.org #21 ↑1 6 too low 16

PublishPress Planner – Editorial Calendar, Marketing Content, Kanban Board 6K+ · 4.9★ (178) wp.org #22 6 too low 17

Noptin – Newsletter, New Post Notifications & Email Automation 10K+ · 4.5★ (120) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #13 4 too high 18

WP Ultimate Post Grid 4K+ · 4.4★ (32) heavy footprint wp.org #15 ↑1 3 too high 19

Easy MCP AI – Connect Claude to WordPress: MCP Server for ChatGPT & AI Agents 30K+ · 4.9★ (16) thin reviews wp.org #19 20

Sync Post With Other Site 3K+ · 3.9★ (29) wp.org #18 ↓1 2 too high 21

MB Custom Post Types & Custom Taxonomies 10K+ · 4.7★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #23 ↑1 2 too low 22

External Links Overview 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #7 15 too high 23

Real-Time Post Statistics for WordPress 1K+ · 4.8★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #20 ↑3 3 too high 24

F4 Post Tree 600+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #24

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.