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

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 “release”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Press Release Distribution shows at wp.org #6 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 600+ 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

SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 1267 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #1 2

The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #2 3

All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676) wp.org #4 1 too low 4

WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470) wp.org #8 ↑1 4 too low 5

WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209) wp.org #14 ↓1 9 too low 6

WP Downgrade | Specific Core Version 100K+ · 4.8★ (169) wp.org #12 ↓2 6 too low 7

Gutenberg 400K+ · 2.1★ (3888) low rating, top placement wp.org #5 ↑1 2 too high 8

Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #15 ↑3 7 too low 9

Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276) wp.org #10 ↑7 1 too low 10

Easy Updates Manager 300K+ · 4.8★ (726) wp.org #18 ↑1 8 too low 11

SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO 300K+ · 4.8★ (1267) wp.org #21 10 too low 12

FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410) wp.org #20 ↑2 8 too low 13

Core Rollback 20K+ · 4.7★ (16) thin reviews wp.org #9 ↓1 4 too high 14

Disable All WordPress Updates 20K+ · 4.8★ (69) wp.org #19 ↑1 5 too low 15

Better Font Awesome 60K+ · 4.5★ (88) heavy footprint wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too low 16

WP-ShowHide 9K+ · 4.2★ (43) wp.org #13 ↓1 3 too high 17

Advanced Shipment Tracking for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.5★ (355) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #22 ↓8 4 too low 19

CBX Changelog & Release Note 300+ · 5.0★ (3) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #3 16 too high 20

Changeloger – Changelog, Release Notes, Roadmap & Feature Requests 200+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #7 ↓2 13 too high 21

Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157) wp.org #24 3 too low 22

Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #23 1 too low 23

Press Release Distribution 600+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #6 ↑1 17 too high 24

Press Release 100+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #11 13 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.