wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “posts per user”
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 per user”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 of the top 20.
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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.
Ranked above its merit
User Posts Limit shows at wp.org #7 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 13 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
User Role Editor 700K+ · 4.5★ (288)
wp.org #1 2 
User Submitted Posts – Enable Users to Submit Posts from the Front End 10K+ · 4.8★ (913)
wp.org #2 3 
User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (832)
wp.org #3 4 
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #4 5 
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281)
wp.org #6 1 too low 6 
User Frontend – Membership, User Registration, User Profile, User Directory & Content Restriction with Frontend Post Submission 20K+ · 4.1★ (537)
wp.org #5 1 too high 7 
WP User Manager – Registration Form, Login Form, User Profile Builder & Member Directory 10K+ · 4.7★ (350)
wp.org #9 2 too low 8 
Login as User: See the Site as Any User 30K+ · 4.8★ (41)
wp.org #8 9 
Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276)
wp.org #10 1 too low 10 
Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296)
wp.org #11 1 too low 11 
Contextual Related Posts 50K+ · 4.8★ (201)
wp.org #14 3 too low 12 P Posts 2 Posts 9K+ · 4.8★ (101)
wp.org #12 13 
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5040)
wp.org #20 7 too low 14 
Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588)
wp.org #19 5 too low 15 
New User Approve 20K+ · 4.3★ (131)
wp.org #13 2 too high 16 
Import and export users and customers 70K+ · 4.7★ (259)
wp.org #18 2 too low 17 User Posts Limit 3K+ · 5.0★ (13) thin reviews
wp.org #7 10 too high 18 
Open User Map – Interactive Leaflet Maps 10K+ · 5.0★ (70)
wp.org #16 2 too high 19 
List category posts 70K+ · 4.7★ (254)
wp.org #22 3 too low 20 
User Access Manager 10K+ · 4.4★ (112)
wp.org #17 3 too high 21 
SchedulePress – Auto Post & Publish, Auto Social Share, Schedule Posts with Editorial Calendar & Missed Schedule Post Publisher 10K+ · 4.6★ (201)
wp.org #24 3 too low 22 
Maximum Products per User for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.6★ (42)
wp.org #15 7 too high 23 
ProfilePress – Paid Membership, Online Courses (LMS), Ecommerce, User Registration & Login Form, User Profile & Restrict Content 100K+ · 3.1★ (938)
wp.org #23 24 
Activity Log – Monitor User and Agent Changes 200K+ · 4.3★ (74)
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.