Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “regular backup”

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 “regular backup”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Demi – One Click Demo Import, Backup & Site Migration shows at wp.org #13 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 27821 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8708) wp.org #1 2 WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too low 3 BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) wp.org #2 ↑1 1 too high 4 All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676) wp.org #4 ↑1 5 JetBackup – Backup, Restore & Migrate 200K+ · 4.5★ (1056) wp.org #5 ↑1 6 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #8 ↑1 2 too low 7 Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992) wp.org #10 ↑1 3 too low 8 Backuply – Backup, Restore, Migrate and Clone 600K+ · 4.5★ (135) wp.org #6 ↑2 2 too high 9 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #18 ↑1 9 too low 10 Modular DS: Monitor, update, and backup multiple websites 40K+ · 5.0★ (133) wp.org #12 ↑1 2 too low 11 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #17 ↑1 6 too low 12 ManageWP Worker 1M+ · 4.6★ (679) wp.org #15 ↑1 3 too low 13 EWWW Image Optimizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1842) wp.org #21 ↑1 8 too low 14 Two Factor 100K+ · 4.7★ (209) wp.org #23 9 too low 15 Keep Backup Daily 200+ · 4.4★ (45) wp.org #9 ↑1 6 too high 16 Royal WordPress Backup, Restore & Migration Plugin – Backup WordPress Sites Safely 30K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #7 9 too high 17 Titan Anti-spam & Security – Brute Force Protection, 2FA & Spam Filter 50K+ · 4.5★ (370) wp.org #20 ↑1 3 too low 18 FastDup – Fastest WordPress Migration & Duplicator 5K+ · 4.6★ (27) wp.org #16 ↑1 2 too high 19 Customizer Backup & Reset 7K+ · 4.2★ (15) wp.org #11 ↑1 8 too high 20 Ecwid by Lightspeed Ecommerce Shopping Cart 20K+ · 4.5★ (228) wp.org #24 4 too low 21 Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #22 ↑1 1 too low 22 CYAN Backup 300+ · 4.1★ (11) wp.org #19 ↑1 3 too high 23 Demi – One Click Demo Import, Backup & Site Migration 300+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↑1 10 too high 24 Trinity Backup – Backup, Migrate, Restore, Clone & Schedule Backups 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↑1 10 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.