wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “publish date”
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 “publish date”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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
Nepali Date Converter shows at wp.org #8 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 800+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager places #8 on merit, 5.0★ from 1525 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.
WP2Social Auto Publish 9K+ · 4.8★ (640)
wp.org #1 2 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #3 1 too low 3 W WP Meta and Date Remover 80K+ · 4.2★ (71)
wp.org #2 1 too high 4 
WP Twitter Auto Publish 3K+ · 4.9★ (206)
wp.org #4 ↑1 5 
Social Media Auto Publish 5K+ · 4.7★ (345) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #5 ↓1 6 
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821)
wp.org #12 ↑2 6 too low 7 
Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667)
wp.org #9 ↑1 2 too low 8 Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1525)
wp.org #16 ↑5 8 too low 9 
WP to LinkedIn Auto Publish 900+ · 4.7★ (59)
wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too high 10 
SchedulePress – Auto Post & Publish, Auto Social Share, Schedule Posts with Editorial Calendar & Missed Schedule Post Publisher 10K+ · 4.6★ (201)
wp.org #13 ↓2 3 too low 11 
Social Media Auto Poster – Schedule & Publish to Buffer 7K+ · 4.5★ (125)
wp.org #11 ↓2 12 
My Calendar – Accessible Event Manager 20K+ · 4.7★ (159)
wp.org #19 ↓7 7 too low 13 
Publish To Apple News 4K+ · 3.8★ (25)
wp.org #6 ↑1 7 too high 14 R Really Simple CSV Importer 40K+ · 4.9★ (107)
wp.org #24 10 too low 15 
Schema – All In One Schema Rich Snippets 30K+ · 4.0★ (162)
wp.org #21 ↓1 6 too low 16 
Publish to Schedule 3K+ · 4.3★ (23) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #10 ↓2 6 too high 17 
Auto Publish for Google My Business 9K+ · 4.9★ (38) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #17 ↓2 18 Nepali Date Converter 800+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #8 ↑10 10 too high 19 
Post Date Randomizer 8K+ · 5.0★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too low 20 
Social Media Auto Poster – Schedule & Publish to Hootsuite 200+ · 4.1★ (15) thin reviews
wp.org #23 3 too low 21 
WP Tumblr Auto Publish 60+ · 3.2★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #15 ↓2 6 too high 22 
Snow Monkey Editor 30K+ · 4.0★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #22 23 
DX Out of Date 80+ · 4.3★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #14 9 too high 24 
Lock Last Modified Date 80+ · 4.0★ (1) thin reviews
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.