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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “reduce bloat”

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 “reduce bloat”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 3 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

Hungry Resource Monitor shows at wp.org #10 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Post Views Counter places #6 on merit, 4.9★ from 1237 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Disable Bloat for WordPress & WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.8★ (100) wp.org #1 2 Limit Login Attempts Security – Login Security, 2FA, Firewall, Brute Force Prevention 1M+ · 4.8★ (1489) wp.org #2 3 Orbit Fox: Duplicate Page, Menu Icons, SVG Support, Cookie Notice, Custom Fonts & More 100K+ · 4.8★ (317) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 SureCart – Ecommerce Made Easy For Selling Physical Products, Digital Downloads, Subscriptions, Donations, & Payments 80K+ · 4.8★ (289) wp.org #7 ↑2 3 too low 5 Meow Gallery 10K+ · 4.9★ (203) wp.org #9 ↑2 4 too low 6 Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1237) wp.org #13 ↑7 7 too low 7 Unbloater 5K+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #4 ↑1 3 too high 8 SpeedyCache – Cache, Optimization, Performance 500K+ · 4.4★ (30) wp.org #3 5 too high 9 Breeze Cache 300K+ · 3.6★ (133) wp.org #5 ↓1 4 too high 10 Asset CleanUp: Page Speed Booster 100K+ · 4.9★ (1564) wp.org #12 ↑1 2 too low 11 Advanced Database Cleaner – Optimize & Clean Database to Speed Up Site Performance 100K+ · 4.9★ (1962) wp.org #16 ↓6 5 too low 12 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #14 ↑4 2 too low 13 Widget Options – Advanced Conditional Visibility for Gutenberg Blocks & Classic Widgets 100K+ · 4.9★ (1516) wp.org #23 ↑1 10 too low 14 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588) wp.org #18 ↑1 4 too low 15 Sticky Header Effects for Elementor 300K+ · 4.5★ (69) wp.org #15 ↑1 16 Featherweight 10K+ · 4.1★ (45) wp.org #8 8 too high 17 Easy Optimizer – PageSpeed, Cache & Core Web Vitals (Unused CSS, Delay JS, Lazy Load) 1K+ · 4.6★ (18) wp.org #17 ↓2 18 Falcon – Cache, Performance, Security, Cleanup, and Tweaks 2K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #11 ↑3 7 too high 19 AF Companion – Starter Sites, Speed Booster & Growth Suite for Professional Publishing 10K+ · 4.9★ (34) wp.org #20 ↑2 1 too low 20 WPEPP – Essential Security, Password Protect & Login Page Customizer 3K+ · 4.1★ (19) wp.org #19 ↑2 1 too high 21 Post Types Unlimited 10K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 Hungry Resource Monitor 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 ↑2 12 too high 23 Missed Schedule Post Publisher 6K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #22 ↑1 1 too high 24 Basic Security: Prevent Cross Site Scripting 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 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.