wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “remove log”

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

Debug Log Viewer shows at wp.org #12 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

W3 Total Cache places #12 on merit, 4.4★ from 5420 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Activity Log – Monitor User and Agent Changes 200K+ · 4.3★ (74) wp.org #1 2

WP Activity Log 300K+ · 4.7★ (490) wp.org #2 3

Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes 300K+ · 4.9★ (491) wp.org #4 1 too low 4

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5040) wp.org #5 1 too low 5

Email Log 80K+ · 4.2★ (43) wp.org #3 2 too high 6

Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528) wp.org #7 1 too low 7

Check & Log Email – Easy Email Testing & Mail logging 90K+ · 4.8★ (292) wp.org #11 4 too low 8

Remove Dashboard Access 30K+ · 4.6★ (78) wp.org #8 9

Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #13 4 too low 10

Debug Log Manager Tool 3K+ · 5.0★ (22) thin reviews wp.org #6 4 too high 11

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 #16 5 too low 12

W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #19 7 too low 13

Easy WP SMTP – WordPress SMTP and Email Logs: Gmail SMTP, Office 365, Outlook, Custom SMTP, and more 500K+ · 4.6★ (709) wp.org #18 5 too low 14

Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012) wp.org #15 1 too low 15

Stream – Activity Log & Audit Trail 70K+ · 4.3★ (76) wp.org #14 1 too high 16

FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410) wp.org #21 5 too low 17

Activity Log Pro – User Activity Log, Audit Log & Security Monitor 400+ · 5.0★ (15) thin reviews wp.org #10 7 too high 18

Redirection 2M+ · 4.4★ (703) wp.org #23 5 too low 19

Comment Link Remove and Other Comment Tools 8K+ · 4.1★ (15) thin reviews wp.org #9 10 too high 20

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #24 4 too low 21

Activity Logs, User Activity Tracking, Multisite Activity Log from Logtivity 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #22 23

Cookies, Terms & Conditions Consent Log 100+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #20 3 too high 24

Debug Log Viewer 1K+ · 4.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #12 12 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.