wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “responsive hours”
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 “responsive hours”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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
Photo Gallery by Re Gallery: Responsive Image Gallery with AI SEO shows at wp.org #11 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 700+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 22 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
We’re Open! 5K+ · 5.0★ (45)
wp.org #1 2 
Advanced Responsive Video Embedder for Rumble, Odysee, YouTube, Vimeo, Kick … 20K+ · 4.2★ (169)
wp.org #2 3 
Online Scheduling and Appointment Booking System – Bookly 60K+ · 4.4★ (586)
wp.org #4 1 too low 4 
Slider by Soliloquy – Responsive Image Slider for WordPress 30K+ · 4.7★ (1025)
wp.org #5 1 too low 5 
Logo Carousel – Responsive Logo Slider, Logo Showcase, and Clients Logo Gallery 20K+ · 4.7★ (162)
wp.org #6 1 too low 6 
ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051)
wp.org #8 ↑1 2 too low 7 
HTML5 Video Player – embed fast, responsive videos with ease 20K+ · 4.6★ (195)
wp.org #7 ↑4 8 
LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778)
wp.org #9 ↑3 1 too low 9 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322)
wp.org #10 ↓3 1 too low 10 
Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528)
wp.org #12 ↑2 2 too low 11 
MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435)
wp.org #14 ↓6 3 too low 12 
Responsive Addons for Elementor – Free Elementor Addons, Kits and Elementor Templates 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #3 9 too high 13 
The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461)
wp.org #15 2 too low 14 
UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8708)
wp.org #19 ↓2 5 too low 15 
Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205)
wp.org #20 5 too low 16 W WP Photo Album Plus 10K+ · 4.7★ (199)
wp.org #16 ↑6 17 
The SEO Framework – Fast, Automated, Effortless. 200K+ · 4.9★ (380)
wp.org #21 4 too low 18 
Otter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder for Gutenberg Editor & FSE 300K+ · 4.7★ (251)
wp.org #18 19 
Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807)
wp.org #22 ↓3 3 too low 20 
WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312)
wp.org #24 ↓3 4 too low 21 
Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612)
wp.org #23 2 too low 22 Photo Gallery by Re Gallery: Responsive Image Gallery with AI SEO 700+ · 5.0★ (22) thin reviews
wp.org #11 ↑2 11 too high 23 
Divi Carousel Lite – Responsive Carousel & Slider Modules for Divi Builder 6K+ · 4.0★ (20) thin reviews
wp.org #17 ↓1 6 too high 24 
Portfolio Responsive Gallery 200+ · 3.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #13 ↓3 11 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.