Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “promote”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20. 6 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

Leadpages shows at wp.org #10 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

The Events Calendar Shortcode & Block places #10 on merit, 4.7★ from 101 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #1 2 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #2 3 Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435) wp.org #4 5 Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433) wp.org #7 ↑7 2 too low 6 Depicter — Popup & Slider Builder 70K+ · 4.6★ (235) wp.org #3 3 too high 7 PublishPress Planner – Editorial Calendar, Marketing Content, Kanban Board 6K+ · 4.9★ (178) wp.org #8 ↑4 1 too low 8 Advanced Product Labels for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.8★ (252) wp.org #6 2 too high 9 Visual Link Preview 10K+ · 4.5★ (36) wp.org #9 ↓1 10 The Events Calendar Shortcode & Block 10K+ · 4.7★ (101) wp.org #15 5 too low 11 GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) wp.org #13 ↓2 2 too low 12 Music Player for Elementor – Audio Player & Podcast Player 10K+ · 4.7★ (123) wp.org #17 ↑1 5 too low 13 Mailchimp for WooCommerce 200K+ · 4.0★ (726) wp.org #11 ↓4 2 too high 14 Affiliate Program Suite — SliceWP Affiliates 10K+ · 4.9★ (111) wp.org #18 ↑4 4 too low 15 Paid Membership Subscriptions – Effortless Memberships, Recurring Payments & Content Restriction 10K+ · 4.7★ (270) wp.org #24 9 too low 16 Automatic Featured Images from Videos 7K+ · 4.6★ (36) wp.org #12 ↓2 4 too high 17 Taxonomy Switcher 2K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #23 6 too low 18 Interact Quiz & Form Embed 3K+ · 4.6★ (11) wp.org #16 2 too high 19 Advanced Popups 60K+ · 4.0★ (9) wp.org #14 ↓1 5 too high 20 Jetpack Without Promotions 1K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #19 1 too high 21 Leadpages 10K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #10 ↓1 11 too high 22 Products Suggestions for WooCommerce 600+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #20 ↓3 2 too high 23 QR Redirector 4K+ · 4.3★ (11) wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too high 24 AI Powered Marketing 50K+ · 2.7★ (29) wp.org #22 ↓1 2 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.