wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “projects”
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 “projects”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 4 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
WPZOOM Portfolio Lite – Filterable Portfolio Plugin shows at wp.org #10 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 20K+ 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
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder places #6 on merit, 4.8★ from 2143 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Contact Form 7 10M+ · 4.0★ (2186)
wp.org #1 ↑1 2 
Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418)
wp.org #2 ↓1 3 
Project Manager – AI Powered Project Management, Task Management, Kanban Board & Time Tracker 5K+ · 3.8★ (187)
wp.org #3 4 
Zephyr Project Manager 1K+ · 4.8★ (98)
wp.org #5 1 too low 5 
Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296)
wp.org #6 1 too low 6 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143)
wp.org #13 ↓5 7 too low 7 
WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1915)
wp.org #12 ↑1 5 too low 8 
GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #9 ↓2 1 too low 9 
FluentBoards – Project Management, Task Management, Goal Tracking, Kanban Board, and, Team Collaboration 6K+ · 5.0★ (25)
wp.org #8 ↑1 1 too high 10 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #15 ↑7 5 too low 11 
Project Showcase – Responsive Portfolio, Case Studies & Filterable Grid Layouts 200+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #4 7 too high 12 
Yoast Duplicate Post 3M+ · 4.7★ (538) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #11 ↑1 1 too high 13 
AMP for WP – Accelerated Mobile Pages 70K+ · 4.4★ (1319) heavy footprint
wp.org #23 10 too low 14 
Category Order and Taxonomy Terms Order 500K+ · 4.5★ (162)
wp.org #19 ↓3 5 too low 15 
MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435) heavy footprint
wp.org #24 ↓7 9 too low 16 
Redirection 2M+ · 4.4★ (703)
wp.org #22 6 too low 17 
WP-CRM System – Manage Clients and Projects 700+ · 3.9★ (15) thin reviews
wp.org #7 10 too high 18 
Gutenberg 400K+ · 2.1★ (3888)
wp.org #16 ↑6 2 too high 19 
UpStream: a Project Management Plugin for WordPress 500+ · 4.2★ (74) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #18 ↓2 1 too high 20 
Taskbuilder – Project Management & Task Management Tool With Kanban Board 700+ · 4.7★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↓1 1 too low 21 WPZOOM Portfolio Lite – Filterable Portfolio Plugin 20K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #10 ↑1 11 too high 22 
Projectopia – Project Management Tool 200+ · 5.0★ (7) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #20 ↑6 2 too high 23 A Arile Extra 10K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #17 ↓2 6 too high 24 
Portfolio Block – The Ultimate Project & Portfolio Builder 800+ · 5.0★ (2) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #14 10 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.