wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “profile view”
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 view”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.
Ranked above its merit
View User Metadata shows at wp.org #9 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 7520 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.
User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738)
wp.org #1 2 
Five Star Business Profile and Schema 7K+ · 4.8★ (52)
wp.org #2 ↑1 3 
Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667)
wp.org #4 1 too low 4 
Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1238)
wp.org #5 ↑4 1 too low 5 
User Profile Picture 40K+ · 4.6★ (59)
wp.org #3 ↓1 2 too high 6 
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5040)
wp.org #6 ↓1 7 
User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (832)
wp.org #15 ↓1 8 too low 8 
Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510)
wp.org #10 ↓6 2 too low 9 
ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities 5K+ · 4.6★ (236)
wp.org #11 2 too low 10 
UsersWP – Front-end login form, User Registration, User Profile & Members Directory plugin for WP 20K+ · 4.7★ (183)
wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too low 11 
User Frontend – Membership, User Registration, User Profile, User Directory & Content Restriction with Frontend Post Submission 20K+ · 4.1★ (537)
wp.org #16 ↑6 5 too low 12 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7520)
wp.org #23 ↓3 11 too low 13 
Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418)
wp.org #21 ↓4 8 too low 14 
Profile Extra Fields by BestWebSoft 1K+ · 4.6★ (15) thin reviews
wp.org #7 ↓1 7 too high 15 
One User Avatar | User Profile Picture 100K+ · 4.7★ (41)
wp.org #12 ↓2 3 too high 16 
Co-Authors, Multiple Authors and Guest Authors in an Author Box with PublishPress Authors 20K+ · 4.9★ (114)
wp.org #22 ↓4 6 too low 17 
ProfilePress – Paid Membership, Online Courses (LMS), Ecommerce, User Registration & Login Form, User Profile & Restrict Content 100K+ · 3.1★ (938)
wp.org #17 ↓2 18 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #20 2 too low 19 
BuddyPress 90K+ · 4.1★ (375)
wp.org #24 ↓3 5 too low 20 
Advanced Views – Display Framework – Gutenberg/Elementor/Shortcode 2K+ · 4.8★ (36)
wp.org #19 1 too high 21 
Gravatar Enhanced – Avatars, Profiles, and Privacy 100K+ · 5.0★ (3) host-installed base thin reviews
wp.org #8 ↓1 13 too high 22 
Custom Profile Picture – Replace Gravatar with Your Own Images 300+ · 4.0★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #13 ↓1 9 too high 23 
Social Profile Frame Generator – Custom Social Media Frames Creator 100+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↓2 5 too high 24 View User Metadata 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #9 ↓1 15 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.