Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “recent post”

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 post”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

Post List Designer – Category Post, Recent Post, Post List shows at wp.org #5 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.5★ average from 8 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 1680 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails 100K+ · 4.8★ (215) wp.org #1 2 Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528) wp.org #2 3 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (587) wp.org #3 4 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #6 ↑4 2 too low 5 The Post Grid – Shortcode, Gutenberg Blocks and Elementor Addon for Post Grid 100K+ · 4.8★ (265) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too low 6 Post Slider and Post Carousel with Post Vertical Scrolling Widget – A Responsive Post Slider 10K+ · 4.7★ (31) wp.org #4 2 too high 7 Smart Post – Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider Gutenberg Blocks for Blog & News 20K+ · 4.7★ (210) wp.org #9 2 too low 8 WP Popular Posts 100K+ · 4.5★ (249) wp.org #10 ↓2 2 too low 9 Ultimate Post Kit – Elementor Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider & Blog Layout Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (58) wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too high 10 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #19 9 too low 11 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #18 ↑5 7 too low 12 Category Posts Block 40K+ · 4.5★ (79) wp.org #12 ↑2 13 Content Views – Post Grid & Filter (Shortcode, Blocks, Elementor Widgets) 100K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #17 ↓4 4 too low 14 Post List Designer – Category Post, Recent Post, Post List 1K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #5 9 too high 15 W4 Post List 3K+ · 4.7★ (94) wp.org #22 7 too low 16 C Custom Post Type Widgets 10K+ · 4.8★ (14) wp.org #13 ↑2 3 too high 17 Hide Posts 20K+ · 4.7★ (22) wp.org #20 3 too low 18 Advanced Post Block – Display Your Posts Exactly How You Want 10K+ · 4.2★ (17) wp.org #16 ↑1 2 too high 19 WP Hide Post — Hide Posts, Pages, Custom Post Types, and Control Products Visibility for WooCommerce 3K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #15 ↑1 4 too high 20 Carousel, Recent Post Slider and Banner Slider 7K+ · 4.3★ (3) wp.org #11 9 too high 21 R Recent Category Posts Widget 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 22 GS Posts Grid – Recent Posts, Category Posts, Post Filter, Slider & List 100+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 Post slider elementor addons 1K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↓2 9 too high 24 Recent Posts Widget Advanced 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↓5 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.