wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “random feeds”
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 feeds”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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
Custom Feed for TikTok – Social Post Feed Plugin for TikTok shows at wp.org #8 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Customer Reviews for WooCommerce places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 1539 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4358)
wp.org #1 2 
Spotlight Social Photo Feed 50K+ · 4.7★ (171)
wp.org #2 ↓1 3 
RSS Aggregator by Feedzy – Feed to Post, Autoblogging, News & YouTube Video Feeds Aggregator 40K+ · 4.6★ (361)
wp.org #3 ↓1 4 
ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051)
wp.org #6 ↓2 2 too low 5 
Super RSS Reader – Add attractive RSS Feed Widget 9K+ · 4.6★ (67)
wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too high 6 
Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433)
wp.org #10 ↑2 4 too low 7 Customer Reviews for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (1539)
wp.org #15 ↓4 8 too low 8 
Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612)
wp.org #13 ↓4 5 too low 9 
Automatic YouTube Gallery – Embed Auto-Updating YouTube Video Galleries, Feeds, Playlists & Channels 9K+ · 4.8★ (31)
wp.org #7 ↓2 2 too high 10 
Unlimited Elements for Elementor 300K+ · 4.8★ (525)
wp.org #17 ↓3 7 too low 11 
RSS Feed Widget 2K+ · 3.9★ (26)
wp.org #5 ↑3 6 too high 12 
All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720)
wp.org #18 6 too low 13 
WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1917)
wp.org #19 6 too low 14 
SimpLy Gallery 40K+ · 4.8★ (118)
wp.org #16 ↓1 2 too low 15 
PPWP – Password Protect Pages 30K+ · 4.7★ (271)
wp.org #22 ↓6 7 too low 16 
CMP – Coming Soon & Maintenance Plugin by NiteoThemes 200K+ · 4.7★ (326)
wp.org #24 ↓4 8 too low 17 
Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #12 ↓2 5 too high 18 
Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses and Phone Numbers 90K+ · 4.9★ (94)
wp.org #23 ↓4 5 too low 19 
Quick Event Manager 1K+ · 4.9★ (67)
wp.org #21 ↓3 2 too low 20 
Gutenslider — Slider Block for the Block Editor 10K+ · 4.0★ (65)
wp.org #20 21 
RSS Feed Pro 400+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #14 ↓1 7 too high 22 Custom Feed for TikTok – Social Post Feed Plugin for TikTok 1K+ · 4.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #8 ↓2 14 too high 23 
SocialFeeds 40K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #9 ↓2 14 too high 24 
Feed Importer for Blogger 300+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #11 13 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.