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

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 “quotas”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 4 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

AI to Elementor — HTML Importer for Elementor shows at wp.org #8 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 1K+ 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

Seraphinite Accelerator places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 476 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Imagify Image Optimization: Optimize Images | Compress & Convert to WebP/AVIF 900K+ · 4.3★ (1656) wp.org #1 2 Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528) wp.org #4 ↓2 2 too low 3 Cimo – Free Instant Image Optimizer & WebP Converter 10K+ · 4.9★ (20) wp.org #2 ↑1 1 too high 4 Blogger Importer Extended 4K+ · 4.7★ (131) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 LocoAI – Auto Translate for Loco Translate 70K+ · 4.9★ (642) wp.org #10 ↑12 5 too low 6 Kraken.io Image Optimizer – Compress, Convert to WebP & AVIF, Resize & Bulk Optimize 10K+ · 4.5★ (119) wp.org #7 ↑1 1 too low 7 Min Max Quantities – Set Minimum/Maximum Quantity & Price Limits with Step Control for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.8★ (60) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 Squeeze – Browser-Based Image Compression & WebP Converter (No API, No Limits) 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #3 ↑1 5 too high 9 Easy Modal 7K+ · 4.4★ (124) wp.org #11 2 too low 10 Seraphinite Accelerator 50K+ · 4.8★ (476) wp.org #19 ↓1 9 too low 11 EasyMedia – Increase Media Upload File Size | Role-Based Upload Limit | Increase Execution Time 70K+ · 4.9★ (99) wp.org #18 ↑1 7 too low 12 Nelio A/B Testing – AB Tests and Heatmaps for Better Conversion Optimization 4K+ · 4.8★ (99) wp.org #17 5 too low 13 User Posts Limit 3K+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #9 4 too high 14 Reviews and Rating – Google Reviews 20K+ · 4.9★ (184) wp.org #16 ↓2 2 too low 15 WP Compress – Instant Performance & Speed Optimization 9K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #22 ↓1 7 too low 16 Ailo – AI Slug Translator 1K+ · 4.9★ (12) wp.org #13 3 too high 17 LukasApps CAPTCHA tools for Contact Form 7 100K+ · 4.1★ (48) wp.org #12 5 too high 18 GPTranslate – Multilingual AI Translation Agent for WordPress: Translate Your Site with AI 500+ · 5.0★ (34) wp.org #23 ↑1 5 too low 19 Icegram Mailer – Reliable Email Deliverability, No-Code SMTP Replacement & Email Logs for WordPress 2K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #21 2 too low 20 Zhanzhangb Indexing Submission for Baidu 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #14 ↑1 6 too high 21 AI to Elementor — HTML Importer for Elementor 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #8 ↓1 13 too high 22 WP Compress for MainWP 400+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #15 ↓5 7 too high 23 Mailster AmazonSES Integration 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #20 3 too high 24 Knit Pay Pro – Mercado Pago, CCAvenue, Easebuzz, Thawani 200+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #24 ↓1

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.