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

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 rating”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Editorial Rating – Product Review & Rating System shows at wp.org #13 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.4★ average from 13 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 14387 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Reviews and Rating – Google Reviews 20K+ · 4.9★ (184) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #1 2

Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296) wp.org #3 4

Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5

Rate My Post – Star Rating Plugin by FeedbackWP 20K+ · 4.7★ (159) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #4 ↑1 2 too high 7

Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #9 2 too low 8

UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too low 9

User Submitted Posts – Enable Users to Submit Posts from the Front End 10K+ · 4.8★ (913) wp.org #12 3 too low 10

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #14 4 too low 11

kk Star Ratings – Rate Post & Collect User Feedbacks 70K+ · 3.9★ (171) wp.org #8 3 too high 12

Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) not PHP-current wp.org #15 3 too low 13

Rich Showcase for Google Reviews 100K+ · 4.9★ (1623) wp.org #24 11 too low 14

GD Rating System 1K+ · 4.3★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #7 7 too high 15

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 #18 ↓1 3 too low 16

Stars Rating 1K+ · 4.7★ (23) thin reviews wp.org #10 ↓1 6 too high 17

Comments – wpDiscuz 60K+ · 4.7★ (581) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #16 ↓3 1 too high 18

Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks 1M+ · 4.7★ (1872) heavy footprint wp.org #22 ↓2 4 too low 19

Ultimate Post Kit – Elementor Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider & Blog Layout Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (58) wp.org #20 ↓2 1 too low 20

Like Button Rating ♥ LikeBtn 3K+ · 4.4★ (273) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #23 ↓2 3 too low 21

WP Post Author – Author Box, Multiple Authors, Guest Authors & Custom Avatars 10K+ · 4.2★ (22) thin reviews wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too high 22

CCI Posts Carousel All In One 2K+ · 4.6★ (27) wp.org #21 ↓2 1 too high 23

Editorial Rating – Product Review & Rating System 200+ · 4.4★ (13) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #13 ↓2 10 too high 24

Widgets for Google Reviews and Ratings 3K+ · 4.2★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #19 ↑4 5 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.