wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “relevant posts”

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 “relevant posts”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 6 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

Auto Post Cleaner shows at wp.org #11 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 2051 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 signals wp.org

Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588) wp.org #2 ↓1 3

Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1526) wp.org #3 ↑2 4

TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625) wp.org #7 ↓3 3 too low 5

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #6 ↑2 1 too low 6

Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) not PHP-current wp.org #5 1 too high 7

Hide Posts 20K+ · 4.7★ (22) thin reviews wp.org #4 ↓1 3 too high 8

Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #13 5 too low 9

WP RSS Aggregator – RSS Import, Feed to Post, Autoblogging, AI Content 40K+ · 4.5★ (565) wp.org #17 ↓3 8 too low 10

Better Search – Relevant search results for WordPress 5K+ · 4.4★ (61) wp.org #9 ↓2 1 too high 11

Ultimate Post Kit – Elementor Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider & Blog Layout Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (58) wp.org #12 ↓1 1 too low 12

ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #23 ↓2 11 too low 13

Slider, Gallery, and Carousel by MetaSlider – Image Slider, Video Slider 500K+ · 4.6★ (743) wp.org #22 ↓3 9 too low 14

User Posts Limit 3K+ · 5.0★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #8 ↓2 6 too high 15

RSS Aggregator by Feedzy – Feed to Post, Autoblogging, News & YouTube Video Feeds Aggregator 40K+ · 4.6★ (361) wp.org #24 ↓1 9 too low 16

Clone Posts 10K+ · 4.3★ (22) thin reviews wp.org #10 ↓1 6 too high 17

Category Posts in Custom Menu 2K+ · 4.8★ (43) wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too high 18

Noptin – Newsletter, New Post Notifications & Email Automation 10K+ · 4.5★ (120) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #15 3 too high 19

TableOn – WordPress Posts Table Filterable 200+ · 4.6★ (15) thin reviews wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too low 20

Post Type Transfer 2K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #20 21

Auto Post Cleaner 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #11 ↓1 11 too high 23

GS Posts Grid – Recent Posts, Category Posts, Post Filter, Slider & List 100+ · 4.2★ (5) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #18 ↓1 5 too high 24

Auto Update Post Date 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) not PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #19 ↓1 5 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.