wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “profile”

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

User Profile Picture – Custom Local Avatars shows at wp.org #7 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 4K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

BuddyPress places #12 on merit, 4.1★ from 375 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738) wp.org #1 2

Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #2 3

Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #6 3 too low 4

User Profile Picture 40K+ · 4.6★ (59) wp.org #4 ↓1 5

BP Profile Search 5K+ · 5.0★ (71) wp.org #5 ↓1 6

Five Star Business Profile and Schema 7K+ · 4.8★ (52) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #3 ↑3 3 too high 7

User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (832) wp.org #14 ↓6 7 too low 8

ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities 5K+ · 4.6★ (236) not PHP-current wp.org #9 ↓2 1 too low 9

UsersWP – Front-end login form, User Registration, User Profile & Members Directory plugin for WP 20K+ · 4.7★ (183) wp.org #12 ↓1 2 too low 11

One User Avatar | User Profile Picture 100K+ · 4.7★ (41) wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too high 12

BuddyPress 90K+ · 4.1★ (375) wp.org #23 ↓1 11 too low 13

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 #24 ↓7 11 too low 14

Post to Google My Business (Google Business Profile) 10K+ · 4.9★ (159) not PHP-current wp.org #21 ↓1 7 too low 15

User Frontend – Membership, User Registration, User Profile, User Directory & Content Restriction with Frontend Post Submission 20K+ · 4.1★ (537) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #18 ↑5 3 too low 16

Profile Extra Fields by BestWebSoft 1K+ · 4.6★ (15) thin reviews wp.org #11 ↓1 5 too high 17

WP User Manager – Registration Form, Login Form, User Profile Builder & Member Directory 10K+ · 4.7★ (350) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #22 ↓1 5 too low 18

ProfilePress – Paid Membership, Online Courses (LMS), Ecommerce, User Registration & Login Form, User Profile & Restrict Content 100K+ · 3.1★ (938) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #17 ↓2 1 too high 19 B BuddyPress Login Redirect to Profile 600+ · 5.0★ (12) thin reviews wp.org #19 ↓1 20

Gravatar Enhanced – Avatars, Profiles, and Privacy 100K+ · 5.0★ (3) host-installed base thin reviews wp.org #8 ↑5 12 too high 21

WP User Profile Restriction 500+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #16 5 too high 22

User Profile Picture – Custom Local Avatars 4K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #7 ↓2 15 too high 23

CiviCRM Profile Sync 500+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #15 ↓1 8 too high 24

Custom Profile Picture – Replace Gravatar with Your Own Images 300+ · 4.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #20 ↓1 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.