wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “recent articles”
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 “recent articles”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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
VK All in One Expansion Unit shows at wp.org #7 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 100K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 2528 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.
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821)
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 
Echo Knowledge Base – Documentation, FAQs, Chat & Smart Search 10K+ · 4.9★ (124)
wp.org #3 4 
Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes 300K+ · 4.9★ (491)
wp.org #5 1 too low 5 
404 to 301 – Redirect Manager, 301 Redirection, 404 Error Logs & 404 Monitoring 100K+ · 4.7★ (321)
wp.org #6 1 too low 6 
Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397)
wp.org #8 2 too low 7 
Schema & Structured Data for WP & AMP 100K+ · 4.5★ (252)
wp.org #10 3 too low 8 
The Post Grid – Shortcode, Gutenberg Blocks and Elementor Addon for Post Grid 100K+ · 4.8★ (265)
wp.org #15 7 too low 9 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528)
wp.org #19 ↑3 10 too low 10 
RSS Aggregator by Feedzy – Feed to Post, Autoblogging, News & YouTube Video Feeds Aggregator 40K+ · 4.6★ (361)
wp.org #18 8 too low 11 
Hide Posts 20K+ · 4.7★ (22) thin reviews
wp.org #9 2 too high 12 
GN Publisher: Google News Compatible RSS Feeds 20K+ · 4.9★ (29)
wp.org #12 ↓1 13 
FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410)
wp.org #20 ↓1 7 too low 14 
CCI Posts Carousel All In One 2K+ · 4.6★ (27)
wp.org #11 ↑1 3 too high 15 
Kubio AI Page Builder 80K+ · 4.4★ (79)
wp.org #16 1 too low 16 
Prime Slider – Hero Slider, Carousel, WooCommerce & Post Slider Elementor Addons 100K+ · 4.5★ (82)
wp.org #17 1 too low 17 
Super RSS Reader – Add attractive RSS Feed Widget 9K+ · 4.6★ (67)
wp.org #21 ↓1 4 too low 18 
Creative Addons for Elementor 700+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #4 14 too high 19 
Coupon Affiliates – Affiliate Plugin for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.9★ (77)
wp.org #24 5 too low 20 
Product Bundle Builder for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.8★ (61)
wp.org #23 3 too low 21 
Ocean Extra 400K+ · 3.3★ (67)
wp.org #14 7 too high 22 
Social Engine 600+ · 4.8★ (30)
wp.org #22 ↓1 23 VK All in One Expansion Unit 100K+ · 4.0★ (7) host-installed base thin reviews
wp.org #7 16 too high 24 
Recent Posts by Category (RCP) 20+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #13 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.