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

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 “pre get posts”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

YITH Pre-Order for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #6 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 6K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.1★ average from 16 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 #10 on merit, 4.5★ from 565 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #1 2

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #2 ↑1 3

Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #3 ↓1 4

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #4 ↑4 5

Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (587) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too low 6

UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #10 ↓1 4 too low 7

ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #9 ↑2 1 too low 9

The Post Grid – Shortcode, Gutenberg Blocks and Elementor Addon for Post Grid 100K+ · 4.8★ (265) wp.org #17 8 too low 10

WP RSS Aggregator – RSS Import, Feed to Post, Autoblogging, AI Content 40K+ · 4.5★ (565) wp.org #20 ↓1 10 too low 11

Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) heavy footprint wp.org #14 ↑9 3 too low 12

Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) not PHP-current wp.org #19 ↑3 7 too low 13

Category AJAX Filter – Posts, Custom Post Types & Product Filter 6K+ · 4.9★ (158) wp.org #18 5 too low 14

Post Duplicator 200K+ · 4.8★ (80) wp.org #15 ↓1 1 too low 15

Superb Addons: Blocks, Patterns, Pre-built Pages, Sliders, Popups, Free Forms, Animations & More 80K+ · 4.9★ (23) thin reviews wp.org #11 ↓1 4 too high 16

Click to Chat – HoliThemes 600K+ · 4.8★ (131) wp.org #16 17

MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435) heavy footprint wp.org #22 ↓7 5 too low 18

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 #21 3 too low 19

PublishPress Checklists: Pre-Publishing Approval Checklist – Validate Post Requirements 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #13 6 too high 20

Dynamic Month & Year into Posts 8K+ · 5.0★ (18) thin reviews wp.org #12 8 too high 21

Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641) wp.org #23 2 too low 22

YITH Pre-Order for WooCommerce 6K+ · 3.1★ (16) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #6 ↓2 16 too high 23

Pre-Publish Checklist 1K+ · 5.0★ (11) thin reviews wp.org #24 1 too low 24

Get Cash 400+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #8 ↓1 16 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.