Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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

Flexi Post Grid shows at wp.org #13 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 200+ 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

TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy places #8 on merit, 5.0★ from 4625 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 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #1 ↑2 2 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #2 3 The Post Grid – Shortcode, Gutenberg Blocks and Elementor Addon for Post Grid 100K+ · 4.8★ (265) wp.org #3 ↓2 4 Smart Post – Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider Gutenberg Blocks for Blog & News 20K+ · 4.7★ (210) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Post Slider and Post Carousel with Post Vertical Scrolling Widget – A Responsive Post Slider 10K+ · 4.7★ (31) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Content Views – Post Grid & Filter (Shortcode, Blocks, Elementor Widgets) 100K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #8 ↑1 2 too low 7 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #10 ↓2 3 too low 8 TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625) wp.org #17 ↓1 9 too low 9 W4 Post List 3K+ · 4.7★ (94) wp.org #9 ↑1 10 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #15 ↑3 5 too low 11 Blog Designer Pack – Blog, Post Grid, Post Slider, Post Carousel, Category Post, News 30K+ · 4.7★ (79) wp.org #11 12 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #14 ↑1 2 too low 13 Advanced Post Block – Display Your Posts Exactly How You Want 10K+ · 4.2★ (17) wp.org #7 6 too high 14 SiteOrigin Widgets Bundle 400K+ · 4.9★ (134) wp.org #19 ↑1 5 too low 15 Prime Slider – Hero Slider, Carousel, WooCommerce & Post Slider Elementor Addons 100K+ · 4.5★ (82) wp.org #16 ↓2 1 too low 16 Post List Designer – Category Post, Recent Post, Post List 1K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #6 10 too high 17 WP Ultimate Post Grid 4K+ · 4.4★ (32) wp.org #12 5 too high 18 Sina Extension for Elementor 40K+ · 4.9★ (35) wp.org #20 ↓1 2 too low 19 StatCounter – Real Time Visitor Stats, Session Replay & Heatmaps 70K+ · 4.2★ (58) wp.org #23 4 too low 20 Read Meter – Reading Time & Progress Bar 10K+ · 4.5★ (19) wp.org #21 1 too low 21 T4B News Ticker – Responsive News Scroller, Slider, and Animations 7K+ · 4.5★ (16) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 Magical Posts Display – Elementor Advanced Posts widgets 3K+ · 4.4★ (10) wp.org #18 ↓1 4 too high 23 Cool Author Box – For Widget and Post Content 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Flexi Post Grid 200+ · 5.0★ (1) 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.