Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “proof of work”

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 “proof of work”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 2 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

Table Of Contents Block shows at wp.org #8 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 1915 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (195) wp.org #1 2 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5038) wp.org #2 3 Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #3 4 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1668) wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too low 5 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too high 6 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too low 7 Customer Reviews for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (1539) wp.org #12 ↓2 5 too low 8 Inavii Social Feed – Live Social Proof Gallery 9K+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #5 ↓1 3 too high 9 NotificationX – FOMO, Live Sales Notification, WooCommerce Sales Popup, GDPR, Social Proof, Announcement Banner & Floating Notification Bar 30K+ · 4.8★ (228) wp.org #13 ↓2 4 too low 10 Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4358) wp.org #17 ↓4 7 too low 11 Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #15 4 too low 12 WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1915) wp.org #20 ↑2 8 too low 13 Disable Gutenberg 500K+ · 5.0★ (735) wp.org #23 10 too low 14 Invisible Anti-Spam & CAPTCHA — reCAPTCHA Alternative for All Forms 4K+ · 4.8★ (50) wp.org #14 ↑2 15 SALERT – Social Proof Notifications & Live Sales Popup 8K+ · 3.9★ (16) wp.org #9 ↓1 6 too high 16 Safe SVG 1M+ · 4.9★ (79) wp.org #19 ↓2 3 too low 17 Table Of Contents Block 10K+ · 4.3★ (7) wp.org #8 ↓1 9 too high 18 Nudgify Social Proof 500+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #10 ↓1 8 too high 19 OpenPorte Spam Protection 500+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #11 ↑1 8 too high 20 WiserNotify – Social Proof & FOMO Notifications, WooCommerce Sales Popups, Reviews & Announcement Bar 900+ · 5.0★ (29) wp.org #22 ↓2 2 too low 21 Friendly Captcha for WordPress 10K+ · 3.9★ (18) wp.org #21 22 Surbma | GDPR Proof Cookie Consent & Notice Bar 500+ · 4.6★ (11) wp.org #16 ↓2 6 too high 23 WP Live Social-Proof 100+ · 4.5★ (6) wp.org #24 ↓1 1 too low 24 Tax‑Proof Coupons for WooCommerce 70+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 ↑1 6 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.