wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “priority plus”
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 “priority plus”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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
Email Customizer for WooCommerce – Spark Editor shows at wp.org #14 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.8★ average from 19 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
PDF Invoices & Packing Slips for WooCommerce places #11 on merit, 5.0★ from 1865 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Embed Plus for YouTube Gallery, Livestream and Lazy Loading with Facades 100K+ · 4.6★ (572)
wp.org #1 2 
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too low 3 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #2 1 too high 4 
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27820)
wp.org #4 ↓1 5 
Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940)
wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6 
All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231)
wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too low 7 
Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4358)
wp.org #9 ↓3 2 too low 8 
Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186)
wp.org #7 ↑1 1 too high 9 
Disable Comments & Delete All Comments 9K+ · 5.0★ (41)
wp.org #5 ↓1 4 too high 10 
WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470)
wp.org #13 ↓1 3 too low 11 PDF Invoices & Packing Slips for WooCommerce 300K+ · 5.0★ (1865)
wp.org #15 4 too low 12 
Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184)
wp.org #10 ↓1 2 too high 13 
AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874)
wp.org #16 3 too low 14 
Filter Everything — WordPress & WooCommerce Filters 50K+ · 4.6★ (154)
wp.org #12 ↓1 2 too high 15 
Easy Table of Contents 600K+ · 4.4★ (221)
wp.org #11 ↓1 4 too high 16 
Popup Builder – Create highly converting, mobile friendly marketing popups. 200K+ · 4.7★ (2215)
wp.org #23 ↓1 7 too low 17 
GA Google Analytics – Connect Google Analytics to WordPress 400K+ · 4.9★ (158)
wp.org #18 ↓1 1 too low 18 
Weight Based Shipping for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.6★ (83)
wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too high 19 
Pricing Table by Supsystic – Responsive Pricing Plans & Comparison Tables 10K+ · 4.1★ (288)
wp.org #22 ↓2 3 too low 20 
SimpLy Gallery 40K+ · 4.8★ (118)
wp.org #24 4 too low 21 
Sticky Header Effects for Elementor 300K+ · 4.5★ (69)
wp.org #21 ↓2 22 Email Customizer for WooCommerce – Spark Editor 200+ · 4.8★ (19) thin reviews
wp.org #14 ↓1 8 too high 23 
Custom Fonts – Host Your Fonts Locally 400K+ · 4.3★ (62)
wp.org #19 ↓1 4 too high 24 
Passster – Password Protect Pages and Content 10K+ · 4.2★ (60)
wp.org #20 ↓6 4 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.