wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “premium”
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 “premium”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 5 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
Premium Packages – Sell Digital Products Securely shows at wp.org #8 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.8★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 2144 reviews, but shows at wp.org #12. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680)
wp.org #1 2 
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5040)
wp.org #2 3 
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27820)
wp.org #3 4 
UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8709)
wp.org #4 5 
TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625)
wp.org #5 6 
Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667)
wp.org #7 ↑6 1 too low 7 
The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461)
wp.org #9 ↓2 2 too low 8 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #12 4 too low 9 
All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720)
wp.org #10 ↓2 1 too low 10 
WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617)
wp.org #11 1 too low 11 
Premium Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Patterns & Templates 2K+ · 4.8★ (41)
wp.org #6 5 too high 12 
TranslatePress – Translate Multilingual sites with AI Translation 400K+ · 4.7★ (1667)
wp.org #13 ↓2 1 too low 13 
PDF Invoices & Packing Slips for WooCommerce 300K+ · 5.0★ (1865)
wp.org #16 ↓2 3 too low 14 
WP 2FA – Two-factor authentication for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (184)
wp.org #14 ↑2 15 
Autoptimize 800K+ · 4.7★ (1428)
wp.org #17 ↑4 2 too low 16 
WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (758)
wp.org #15 ↑3 1 too high 17 
Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7520)
wp.org #23 ↓3 6 too low 18 
Polylang 900K+ · 4.7★ (3004)
wp.org #21 ↑2 3 too low 19 
Relevanssi – A Better Search 100K+ · 4.8★ (406)
wp.org #24 5 too low 20 
Syncee Premium Dropshipping & Wholesale 1K+ · 4.5★ (49)
wp.org #20 ↓3 21 
Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #19 ↑1 2 too high 22 Premium Packages – Sell Digital Products Securely 2K+ · 3.8★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #8 14 too high 23 
Copyscape Premium 700+ · 3.2★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↓4 5 too high 24 
WP Helper Premium 1K+ · 3.6★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #22 2 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.