Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “request info”

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 “request info”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 17 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

atec System Info shows at wp.org #3 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 200+ 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

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 3221 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 WP Last Modified Info 40K+ · 4.9★ (856) wp.org #1 2 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5040) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 YITH Request a Quote for WooCommerce 10K+ · 3.3★ (66) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #9 4 too low 6 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #12 6 too low 7 WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312) wp.org #11 4 too low 8 FooGallery Photo Gallery : Image, Video & Masonry Galleries 100K+ · 4.8★ (995) wp.org #14 6 too low 9 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #13 4 too low 10 WP Plugin Info Card – Showcase Beautiful Plugin Cards, Theme Cards, and GitHub Repos Anywhere 400+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221) wp.org #21 10 too low 12 Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks 1M+ · 4.7★ (1872) wp.org #18 6 too low 13 HTTP Requests Manager 1K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #5 8 too high 14 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #17 3 too low 15 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 #24 9 too low 16 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #22 6 too low 17 Estatik Real Estate Plugin 10K+ · 4.6★ (187) wp.org #20 3 too low 18 atec System Info 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #3 15 too high 19 Hostinger Tools 3M+ · 3.5★ (40) wp.org #8 11 too high 20 Freight Shipping Quote – Simplify Shipping Cost Requests 300+ · 4.7★ (16) wp.org #23 3 too low 21 Welcart e-Commerce 10K+ · 4.5★ (6) wp.org #16 5 too high 22 Product Publisher Info for WooCommerce 20+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #19 3 too high 23 GoPrayer 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 13 too high 24 WPLifeCycle – Free PHP Version Info & Website Manager 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 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.