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

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

MWR Hit Counter shows at wp.org #7 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 1322 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Shared Files – File Upload & Download Manager 4K+ · 4.4★ (34) wp.org #1 2

Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #4 2 too low 3

Shared Albums for Google Photos 500+ · 4.9★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #2 1 too high 4

WebberZone Top 10 — Popular Posts 10K+ · 4.6★ (102) wp.org #5 1 too low 5

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5040) wp.org #8 3 too low 6

AddToAny Share Buttons 300K+ · 4.7★ (1114) wp.org #9 3 too low 7

WP RSS Aggregator – RSS Import, Feed to Post, Autoblogging, AI Content 40K+ · 4.5★ (565) wp.org #10 3 too low 8

Koko Analytics – Privacy-Friendly WordPress Analytics 70K+ · 5.0★ (245) wp.org #11 3 too low 9

The Plus Addons for Elementor – Mega Menu, Header Footer, Post Grid, AI Widgets & Templates 100K+ · 4.6★ (388) wp.org #12 3 too low 10

Duplicate Post – duplicate pages, copy content, clone posts 5K+ · 4.7★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #3 7 too high 11

PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #21 10 too low 12

Element Pack Addons for Elementor – MCP & AI-Ready Elementor Widgets, Elementor Templates, Elementor Addons 100K+ · 4.7★ (284) wp.org #16 4 too low 13

Woody Code Snippets – Insert PHP, CSS, JS, and Header/Footer Scripts 50K+ · 4.5★ (221) wp.org #15 2 too low 14

W4 Post List 3K+ · 4.7★ (94) wp.org #13 1 too high 15

Solid Post Likes 500+ · 4.8★ (9) thin reviews wp.org #6 9 too high 16

Gutenberg Essential Blocks – Page Builder for Gutenberg Blocks & Patterns 100K+ · 4.9★ (216) wp.org #24 8 too low 17

WP-PostViews 90K+ · 4.4★ (65) wp.org #19 2 too low 18

Pay For Post with WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.7★ (53) wp.org #20 2 too low 19

Trace My IP – Visitor IP Tracker, Stats Analytics & Page Views Counter with Email Alerts 1K+ · 4.5★ (21) thin reviews wp.org #14 5 too high 20

TableKit – WordPress Table Builder for Data Tables, WooCommerce Product Tables & Post Tables 3K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #18 2 too high 21

MWR Hit Counter 100+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #7 14 too high 22

Init Embed Posts – Stylish, Fast, Portable 50+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #22 1 too high 24

Weblix Analytics – Real-Time Stats & Visitor Counter 100+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #17 7 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.