wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “public”
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 “public”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20.
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
Public Preview URL Manager shows at wp.org #3 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 20 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
User Submitted Posts – Enable Users to Submit Posts from the Front End places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 913 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.
Public Post Preview 100K+ · 4.6★ (79)
wp.org #1 2 
UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8708)
wp.org #2 3 
Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962)
wp.org #5 2 too low 4 
Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869)
wp.org #7 ↑1 3 too low 5 
Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423)
wp.org #6 1 too low 6 
bbPress 100K+ · 3.9★ (343)
wp.org #4 2 too high 7 
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #10 3 too low 8 
Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots 10K+ · 4.8★ (142)
wp.org #8 ↓1 9 User Submitted Posts – Enable Users to Submit Posts from the Front End 10K+ · 4.8★ (913)
wp.org #13 4 too low 10 
WP Job Manager 70K+ · 4.4★ (237)
wp.org #9 1 too high 11 
Polylang 900K+ · 4.7★ (3004)
wp.org #12 1 too low 12 
Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667)
wp.org #15 ↑5 3 too low 13 
Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519)
wp.org #19 ↓2 6 too low 14 
Custom Twitter Feeds – A Tweets Widget or X Feed Widget 100K+ · 4.8★ (401)
wp.org #17 ↓1 3 too low 15 
Prevent Direct Access – Protect WordPress Files 10K+ · 4.6★ (297)
wp.org #20 ↑2 5 too low 16 
IP Location Block 10K+ · 4.5★ (35)
wp.org #11 5 too high 17 
ManageWP Worker 1M+ · 4.6★ (679)
wp.org #18 ↓4 1 too low 18 
All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676)
wp.org #24 6 too low 19 
Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall 100K+ · 4.5★ (373)
wp.org #22 3 too low 20 
Duplicate Page 3M+ · 4.8★ (466)
wp.org #23 3 too low 21 
Hide Page And Post Title 40K+ · 3.6★ (54)
wp.org #14 ↓3 7 too high 22 
MJDD Sidrena Cijena 700+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↓1 6 too high 23 Public Preview URL Manager 200+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #3 20 too high 24 
Easy Post Submission – Frontend Posting, Guest Publishing & Submit Content for WordPress 4K+ · 4.5★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↓3 3 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.