wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “reporting”
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 “reporting”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 5 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
REPORTiT – Advanced Reporting for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #8 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 600+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 14387 reviews, but shows at wp.org #12. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint
wp.org #1 2 
Analytify – Google Analytics 4 Tracking and Reporting in WordPress 20K+ · 4.7★ (488)
wp.org #2 3 
LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778)
wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 
Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186)
wp.org #6 ↑3 2 too low 5 
Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) not PHP-current
wp.org #5 6 
WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (759)
wp.org #7 ↑9 1 too low 7 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #12 ↓4 5 too low 8 
Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder 600K+ · 4.9★ (4514)
wp.org #13 ↓1 5 too low 9 
Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1668)
wp.org #10 1 too low 10 
FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410)
wp.org #9 ↓4 1 too high 11 
Quiz and Survey Master (QSM) – Quiz Maker & Survey Maker 40K+ · 4.7★ (1282)
wp.org #16 ↑7 5 too low 12 
MainWP Dashboard: Self-hosted WordPress Management for Agencies 20K+ · 4.9★ (2354) not PHP-current
wp.org #17 5 too low 13 
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 #19 ↓12 6 too low 14 
Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807)
wp.org #20 ↓3 6 too low 15 
Kadence Central – Site Management, Backups, Security, and Reporting 30K+ · 4.2★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #3 ↑1 12 too high 16 
Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #11 5 too high 17 
Sucuri Security – Auditing, Malware Scanner and Security Hardening 600K+ · 4.2★ (386) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #14 ↓1 3 too high 18 
SMTP2GO for WordPress – Email Made Easy 40K+ · 5.0★ (67)
wp.org #24 6 too low 19 
WP Umbrella: Security Backup Restore & Monitoring 90K+ · 4.8★ (81)
wp.org #23 ↑1 4 too low 20 
MainWP Child – Securely Connects to the MainWP Dashboard to Manage Multiple Sites 700K+ · 5.0★ (71) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #22 2 too low 21 
New Relic Reporting for WordPress 500+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↓2 22 REPORTiT – Advanced Reporting for WooCommerce 600+ · 3.0★ (6) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #8 ↓2 14 too high 23 
CM Custom Reports – Flexible reporting to track what matters most 100+ · 5.0★ (4) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #18 5 too high 24 
WooReports — Advanced Reporting for WooCommerce 70+ · 5.0★ (1) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #15 ↓1 9 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.