wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “read some”

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 “read some”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Read More WP shows at wp.org #3 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 20 places. Its 1K+ 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.

Buried gem

GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform places #8 on merit, 4.6★ from 708 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Read Meter – Reading Time & Progress Bar 10K+ · 4.5★ (19) thin reviews wp.org #1 2

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #4 2 too low 3

LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #5 ↑2 2 too low 4

Worth The Read 3K+ · 4.3★ (27) wp.org #2 2 too high 5

Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #8 3 too low 6

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #10 4 too low 7

Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #9 ↑3 2 too low 8

GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) wp.org #14 6 too low 9

WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209) wp.org #15 6 too low 10

Import and export users and customers 70K+ · 4.7★ (259) wp.org #12 ↑1 2 too low 11

PDF Poster – Let visitors read PDF’s without leaving the page 20K+ · 4.5★ (149) wp.org #11 ↓2 12

BuddyPress 90K+ · 4.1★ (375) wp.org #13 ↑3 1 too low 13

Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #17 ↑2 4 too low 14

Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #22 ↓11 8 too low 15

All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #18 3 too low 16

The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #19 ↑1 3 too low 17

Jetpack Boost – Website Speed, Performance and Critical CSS 200K+ · 4.7★ (612) wp.org #20 ↑1 3 too low 18

WP Accessibility 60K+ · 4.8★ (68) wp.org #16 ↑1 2 too high 19

Flexible Checkout Fields for WooCommerce – WooCommerce Checkout Manager 80K+ · 4.7★ (296) wp.org #24 ↓1 5 too low 20

Most And Least Read Posts Widget 900+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #6 ↓1 14 too high 21

WooPayments: Integrated WooCommerce Payments 800K+ · 3.4★ (177) wp.org #23 1 too low 23

WP Consent API 200K+ · 5.0★ (2) host-installed base thin reviews wp.org #21 ↑1 3 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.