wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “random comment dates”
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 “random comment dates”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 5 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 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
SocialFeeds shows at wp.org #13 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 40K+ 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.
Comments – GraphComment | AI-Moderated Comment System 400+ · 4.7★ (30)
wp.org #1 2 
Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433)
wp.org #4 ↑5 2 too low 3 
All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720)
wp.org #3 ↑1 4 
FakerPress 10K+ · 4.9★ (205)
wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5 
Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4358)
wp.org #7 ↓2 2 too low 6 
Post Date Randomizer 8K+ · 5.0★ (10) thin reviewsstale but ranked
wp.org #2 4 too high 7 
Search & Filter 40K+ · 4.5★ (175)
wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too high 8 
WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1915)
wp.org #8 9 
Ivory Search – WordPress Search Plugin 90K+ · 4.9★ (1562) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #9 ↓6 10 
Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails 100K+ · 4.8★ (215)
wp.org #10 ↑1 11 
AI-Powered Carousel, Slider, Video & Photo Gallery Blocks by WP Carousel 60K+ · 4.7★ (434)
wp.org #12 1 too low 12 
Simple Sitemap – Responsive HTML Sitemap for WordPress 60K+ · 3.9★ (72)
wp.org #11 ↑2 1 too high 13 
Gallery by BestWebSoft – Customizable Image and Photo Galleries for WordPress 10K+ · 4.0★ (158)
wp.org #15 ↓1 2 too low 14 
All-in-One Video Gallery – Video Player & Galleries for YouTube, Vimeo & Self-Hosted Videos 20K+ · 4.8★ (136)
wp.org #20 ↑2 6 too low 15 
Export All URLs 50K+ · 4.6★ (94)
wp.org #17 ↓1 2 too low 16 
Super RSS Reader – Add attractive RSS Feed Widget 9K+ · 4.6★ (67)
wp.org #18 ↑1 2 too low 17 
W4 Post List 3K+ · 4.7★ (94)
wp.org #22 ↓1 5 too low 18 
WP-Polls 40K+ · 4.2★ (136)
wp.org #23 5 too low 19 
Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↑4 3 too high 20 
Advanced Query Loop 6K+ · 4.6★ (30)
wp.org #19 ↓2 1 too high 21 
Random Post Plugin – Redirect URL to Post 3K+ · 5.0★ (20) thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↓3 22 
Flex Posts – Responsive Posts Block 2K+ · 5.0★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #24 2 too low 23 
More Sorting Options for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.3★ (11) thin reviews
wp.org #14 ↓4 9 too high 24 SocialFeeds 40K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #13 ↑2 11 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.