Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “recently”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 4 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.

R

Ranked above its merit

Recently Updated Pages and Posts shows at wp.org #3 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 20 places. Its 100+ 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

CMS Tree Page View – Reorder Pages with a Drag-and-Drop Tree places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 365 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Recently 300+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #1 2 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #5 ↑1 3 too low 3 Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433) wp.org #10 ↑5 7 too low 4 WP Popular Posts 100K+ · 4.5★ (249) wp.org #8 ↓1 4 too low 5 NinjaFirewall (WP Edition) – Advanced Security Plugin and Firewall 100K+ · 4.9★ (220) wp.org #7 ↑1 2 too low 6 WebP Express 300K+ · 4.4★ (162) wp.org #9 ↓1 3 too low 7 Jetpack Protect 100K+ · 4.6★ (123) wp.org #15 ↑3 8 too low 8 Popup Builder – Create highly converting, mobile friendly marketing popups. 200K+ · 4.7★ (2215) wp.org #17 9 too low 9 Cloudflare 200K+ · 3.5★ (181) wp.org #11 ↓1 2 too low 10 CMS Tree Page View – Reorder Pages with a Drag-and-Drop Tree 50K+ · 4.9★ (365) wp.org #23 ↓7 13 too low 11 Recently Viewed Products for WooCommerce – Carousel, Widget, Block & Email 1K+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #2 9 too high 12 Related Products – Create Upsells, Cross-sells, and Product Recommendations for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.6★ (82) wp.org #12 ↑6 13 Product Slider, Product Grid, Product Masonry 9K+ · 4.3★ (86) wp.org #16 ↓2 3 too low 14 WC Price History 5K+ · 5.0★ (27) wp.org #13 ↓2 1 too high 15 Auto Featured Image (Auto Post Thumbnail) 40K+ · 3.8★ (119) wp.org #18 ↑4 3 too low 16 Recently Purchased Products For Woo 60+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #4 12 too high 17 Essential Real Estate 7K+ · 4.3★ (52) wp.org #20 ↑3 3 too low 18 Assistant – Every Day Productivity Apps 4K+ · 4.9★ (15) wp.org #19 1 too low 19 Free WooCommerce Products Slider/Carousel Pro 2K+ · 4.7★ (17) wp.org #14 ↓2 5 too high 20 Thanko Thank You Page Customizer for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.5★ (37) wp.org #21 ↓5 1 too low 21 CartSuite – Cart All In One For WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.5★ (51) wp.org #24 ↓3 3 too low 22 MATE Recently Viewed Products – Cache Compatible for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 ↓1 16 too high 23 R Recently Updated Pages and Posts 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 20 too high 24 Hide Price Until Login 1K+ · 3.5★ (24) wp.org #22 2 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.