Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “publications”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

Scholar Publications Fetcher shows at wp.org #3 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Missed Scheduled Posts Publisher by WPBeginner places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 60 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #1 2 XML Sitemap & Google News 100K+ · 4.4★ (85) wp.org #2 ↑2 3 PublishPress Planner – Editorial Calendar, Marketing Content, Kanban Board 6K+ · 4.9★ (178) wp.org #4 ↑5 1 too low 4 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #7 ↓2 3 too low 5 MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157) wp.org #6 ↓4 1 too low 6 Dynamic XML Sitemaps Generator for Google 20K+ · 4.7★ (47) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 Staatic – Static Site Generator for WordPress 3K+ · 4.4★ (21) wp.org #5 ↑1 2 too high 8 Zotpress 2K+ · 4.9★ (66) wp.org #12 4 too low 9 WPMobile.App – Android and iOS App Builder 3K+ · 4.8★ (162) wp.org #13 4 too low 10 Missed Scheduled Posts Publisher by WPBeginner 20K+ · 4.9★ (60) wp.org #16 ↓2 6 too low 11 Analytics Insights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (34) wp.org #11 12 Real Custom Post Order: Create a custom order for your content 8K+ · 4.8★ (42) wp.org #14 ↑1 2 too low 13 teachPress 2K+ · 4.8★ (25) wp.org #9 ↓2 4 too high 14 flowpaper 10K+ · 3.4★ (38) wp.org #10 4 too high 15 GN Publisher: Google News Compatible RSS Feeds 20K+ · 4.9★ (29) wp.org #21 6 too low 16 Simple Yearly Archive 6K+ · 4.7★ (30) wp.org #22 6 too low 17 Hierarchical HTML Sitemap 4K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #17 18 Scholar Publications Fetcher 200+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #3 15 too high 19 AI WP Writer – SEO content generator, chatGPT, Gemini, Claude 3K+ · 4.9★ (23) wp.org #19 ↑1 20 FlatPM – Ad Manager, AdSense and Custom Code 10K+ · 4.6★ (9) wp.org #20 ↓2 21 Auto Update Post Date 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 ↑1 6 too high 22 WPS Child Theme Generator 6K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 ↑1 4 too high 23 PublishPress Statuses – Custom Post Status and Workflow 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Scholar Sync – Academic Publications & Researcher Profiles 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 1 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.