Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “rank”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

Convert Rank Math FAQ to Accordion shows at wp.org #5 but places #18 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

Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 1281 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. 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 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #2 3 Points Management System For Gamification, Ranks, Badges, and Loyalty Rewards Program – myCred 10K+ · 4.6★ (472) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #8 4 too low 5 SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO 300K+ · 4.8★ (1267) wp.org #10 5 too low 6 GamiPress – Gamification plugin to reward points, badges & ranks in WordPress, now with AI 10K+ · 4.9★ (493) wp.org #6 7 The SEO Framework – Fast, Automated, Effortless. 200K+ · 4.9★ (380) wp.org #11 ↑3 4 too low 8 Jetpack Boost – Website Speed, Performance and Critical CSS 200K+ · 4.7★ (612) wp.org #14 ↑2 6 too low 9 Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #17 8 too low 10 Redirection 2M+ · 4.4★ (703) wp.org #13 ↓1 3 too low 11 Easy MCP AI – Connect Claude to WordPress: MCP Server for ChatGPT & AI Agents 30K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #7 4 too high 12 W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #20 8 too low 13 FooGallery Photo Gallery : Image, Video & Masonry Galleries 100K+ · 4.8★ (995) wp.org #21 ↓2 8 too low 14 Xagio SEO & AEO – AI SEO for Google Rankings & AI Visibility 10K+ · 4.9★ (51) wp.org #12 ↓1 2 too high 15 WP All Import – Import SEO Settings for Rank Math SEO 6K+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #3 ↑1 12 too high 16 Website LLMs.txt 50K+ · 4.7★ (12) wp.org #16 ↓3 17 Instant Indexing for Google 200K+ · 3.6★ (36) wp.org #18 ↓1 1 too low 18 Convert Rank Math FAQ to Accordion 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #5 13 too high 19 TrueRanker 400+ · 4.6★ (9) wp.org #15 4 too high 20 Rank Authority — AI SEO & GEO on Autopilot 50+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #9 11 too high 21 Visibility – Lightweight SEO, AEO and GEO for Search and AI 600+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 BeyondSEO – AI SEO to Improve Rankings, Listings & Online Visibility 20K+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #19 ↑4 3 too high 23 Do Shortcodes for Rank Math SEO 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #22 ↓2 1 too high 24 Kabook Auto Schema & Accordion for Rank Math 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↓1 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.