Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 tools”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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.

R

Ranked above its merit

Remove Tools Menu shows at wp.org #14 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 20+ 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

All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) places #12 on merit, 4.7★ from 5231 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 wp.org
1 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #1 2 Advanced Editor Tools 1M+ · 4.5★ (354) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #10 ↑1 7 too low 4 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #12 8 too low 5 Remove Footer Credit 60K+ · 4.7★ (88) wp.org #5 6 Hostinger Tools 3M+ · 3.5★ (40) wp.org #2 4 too high 7 Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012) wp.org #11 ↓3 4 too low 8 Remove Uppercase Accents 8K+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #8 ↑1 9 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5038) wp.org #16 7 too low 10 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #15 ↓1 5 too low 11 Comment Link Remove and Other Comment Tools 8K+ · 4.1★ (15) wp.org #4 7 too high 12 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #21 ↓2 9 too low 13 GDPR tools: Cookie notice + privacy 5K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #7 ↑3 6 too high 14 NS Remove Related Products for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.6★ (64) wp.org #17 3 too low 15 LWS Tools 10K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #6 9 too high 16 Media Library Tools – AI-Powered Rename, Clean & CSV Import/Export 2K+ · 4.7★ (14) wp.org #18 ↑3 2 too low 17 Catch Web Tools 10K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #9 ↓2 8 too high 18 GDPR Tools: comment ip removement 2K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #13 5 too high 19 WP Remove Query Strings From Static Resources 3K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #22 3 too low 20 GD bbPress Tools 1K+ · 3.8★ (24) wp.org #24 4 too low 21 Ubersuggest SEO Tools 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #23 2 too low 22 Remove Broken Images 700+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #20 ↓2 2 too high 23 Remove Admin Bar logo 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 ↑1 4 too high 24 R Remove Tools Menu 20+ · 5.0★ (1) 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.