wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “remote desktop”
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 “remote desktop”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20.
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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.
Ranked above its merit
Agent Abilities for MCP – Connect Claude and ChatGPT with Permission Controls and Audit Log shows at wp.org #15 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 800+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.8★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 2433 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.
LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778)
wp.org #1 2 
Featured Image from URL (FIFU) 60K+ · 4.6★ (264)
wp.org #3 1 too low 3 
Unlimited Elements for Elementor 300K+ · 4.8★ (525)
wp.org #4 1 too low 4 
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281)
wp.org #5 1 too low 5 
Easy MCP AI – Connect Claude to WordPress: MCP Server for ChatGPT & AI Agents 30K+ · 4.9★ (16) thin reviews
wp.org #2 3 too high 6 
WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617)
wp.org #6 7 
AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874)
wp.org #9 2 too low 8 
BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323)
wp.org #7 1 too high 9 
Easy Social Feed – All In One Social Feed Plugin for WordPress 30K+ · 4.6★ (502)
wp.org #10 1 too low 10 
Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1463)
wp.org #16 6 too low 11 Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433)
wp.org #18 7 too low 12 
Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333)
wp.org #12 13 
Rublon Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) 400+ · 4.2★ (88)
wp.org #8 5 too high 14 
Optimole – Optimize Images | Convert WebP & AVIF | CDN & Lazy Load | Image Optimization 200K+ · 4.7★ (640)
wp.org #17 3 too low 15 
Prime Slider – Hero Slider, Carousel, WooCommerce & Post Slider Elementor Addons 100K+ · 4.5★ (82)
wp.org #11 4 too high 16 
Ultimate Post Kit – Elementor Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider & Blog Layout Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (58)
wp.org #13 3 too high 17 
Docket Cache – Object Cache Accelerator 20K+ · 4.9★ (50)
wp.org #14 3 too high 18 
Dynamic Widgets 10K+ · 4.7★ (109)
wp.org #19 1 too low 19 
CMP – Coming Soon & Maintenance Plugin by NiteoThemes 200K+ · 4.7★ (326)
wp.org #24 5 too low 20 
Easy Accordion Block – Accordion, FAQ & Collapsible Content for the Block Editor 7K+ · 4.4★ (16) thin reviews
wp.org #23 3 too low 21 Agent Abilities for MCP – Connect Claude and ChatGPT with Permission Controls and Audit Log 800+ · 4.8★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #15 6 too high 22 
Kadence Central – Site Management, Backups, Security, and Reporting 30K+ · 4.2★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #22 23 
Coming Soon Maintenance Mode 6K+ · 4.7★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #20 3 too high 24 
2ConnectMe – Video Chat, Screen Share & Stripe Payments 10+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
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.