Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “progress”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

WBD Progress Bar For Gutenberg shows at wp.org #8 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 200+ 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

ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 2051 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP Reading Progress 3K+ · 5.0★ (19) wp.org #1 2 Progress Bar 1K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #2 3 Reading progressbar 6K+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #3 ↑1 4 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #7 ↑4 3 too low 5 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #9 ↓1 4 too low 6 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #14 ↑4 8 too low 7 Read Meter – Reading Time & Progress Bar 10K+ · 4.5★ (19) wp.org #5 ↑1 2 too high 8 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #19 11 too low 9 Free Shipping Label and Progress Bar for WooCommerce 5K+ · 5.0★ (43) wp.org #6 ↓3 3 too high 10 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #17 7 too low 11 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #16 5 too low 12 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #24 12 too low 13 Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184) wp.org #13 ↑2 14 Tutor LMS – eLearning and online course solution 100K+ · 4.4★ (590) wp.org #23 ↓9 9 too low 15 Smooth Back To Top Button 40K+ · 4.9★ (31) wp.org #18 3 too low 16 Ultimeter – the Ultimate Progress and Goals Meter 1K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #11 ↓1 5 too high 17 Catch Scroll Progress Bar 1K+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #4 ↑1 13 too high 18 Free Shipping Bar for WooCommerce – Progress Indicator, Popup & Alerts 200+ · 4.8★ (20) wp.org #20 2 too low 19 AAA Autoload Optimizer 9K+ · 4.6★ (25) wp.org #21 2 too low 20 Lite LMS Progress Tracker by LifterLMS – Simple Course, Membership Site and Content Progress Tracking for WordPress 300+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #12 8 too high 21 Progress Bars 500+ · 3.3★ (3) wp.org #10 ↓1 11 too high 22 W WoW Progress 20+ · 4.5★ (6) wp.org #22 23 WBD Progress Bar For Gutenberg 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 ↑5 15 too high 24 Hotel Bookings Progress Bar for MotoPress 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↑1 9 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.