wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “problems”
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 “problems”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 5 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
Log Emails shows at wp.org #16 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 6K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 11 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720)
wp.org #1 ↑1 2 
Maintenance 1M+ · 4.4★ (869)
wp.org #2 ↓1 3 
WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209)
wp.org #4 1 too low 4 
Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220)
wp.org #5 ↑2 1 too low 5 
Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #3 2 too high 6 
Under Construction 600K+ · 4.8★ (1285)
wp.org #8 ↓3 2 too low 7 
BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) not PHP-current
wp.org #6 ↑2 1 too high 8 
301 Redirects – Redirect Manager 300K+ · 4.7★ (578)
wp.org #9 1 too low 9 
WP Accessibility 60K+ · 4.8★ (68)
wp.org #7 ↑4 2 too high 10 
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #11 ↓1 1 too low 11 
Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning 30K+ · 4.8★ (1039)
wp.org #14 3 too low 12 
Relevanssi – A Better Search 100K+ · 4.8★ (406)
wp.org #13 ↑7 1 too low 13 
Import and export users and customers 70K+ · 4.7★ (259)
wp.org #12 1 too high 14 
Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296)
wp.org #10 ↓4 4 too high 15 
WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312)
wp.org #20 ↑1 5 too low 16 
Redirection 2M+ · 4.4★ (703)
wp.org #15 ↓2 1 too high 17 
Nav Menu Roles 70K+ · 4.9★ (219)
wp.org #22 5 too low 18 
The Post Grid – Shortcode, Gutenberg Blocks and Elementor Addon for Post Grid 100K+ · 4.8★ (265)
wp.org #24 6 too low 19 
WP Google Review Slider 30K+ · 4.9★ (373) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #17 ↓1 2 too high 20 
WP Accessibility Helper (WAH) 10K+ · 4.7★ (57)
wp.org #18 ↓1 2 too high 21 
Prevent Browser Caching 10K+ · 4.9★ (29)
wp.org #21 ↑2 22 
WP Offload SES Lite 10K+ · 4.3★ (36)
wp.org #23 ↑1 1 too low 23 
WP Child Theme Generator 20K+ · 4.7★ (19) thin reviews
wp.org #19 4 too high 24 Log Emails 6K+ · 5.0★ (11) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↓1 8 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.