wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “review map”
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 “review map”, 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
Reviews Feed – Add Testimonials and Customer Reviews From Google Reviews, Yelp, TripAdvisor, and More shows at wp.org #13 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 100K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 36 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 1680 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667)
wp.org #1 2 
Rich Showcase for Google Reviews 100K+ · 4.9★ (1623)
wp.org #3 1 too low 3 
Open User Map – Interactive Leaflet Maps 10K+ · 5.0★ (70)
wp.org #2 1 too high 4 
Reviews and Rating – Google Reviews 20K+ · 4.9★ (184)
wp.org #4 5 
WP Go Maps – Google Map, OpenStreetMap, Leaflet Map 300K+ · 4.8★ (3055)
wp.org #6 1 too low 6 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322)
wp.org #7 1 too low 7 
Flexible Map 7K+ · 4.8★ (66)
wp.org #5 2 too high 8 
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132)
wp.org #10 2 too low 9 
WP Data Access – App Builder for Tables, Forms, Dashboards, Charts & Maps 10K+ · 4.9★ (88)
wp.org #8 1 too high 10 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #9 1 too high 11 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680)
wp.org #15 4 too low 12 
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #14 2 too low 13 
Maps Plugin using Google Maps for WordPress – WP Google Map 10K+ · 4.8★ (172)
wp.org #12 1 too high 14 
All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231)
wp.org #17 3 too low 15 
API KEY for Google Maps 30K+ · 4.9★ (55)
wp.org #11 4 too high 16 
Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks 1M+ · 4.7★ (1872)
wp.org #24 8 too low 17 
Otter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder for Gutenberg Editor & FSE 300K+ · 4.7★ (251)
wp.org #22 5 too low 18 
Revopic – Photo Reviews for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (77)
wp.org #18 19 Reviews Feed – Add Testimonials and Customer Reviews From Google Reviews, Yelp, TripAdvisor, and More 100K+ · 4.3★ (36)
wp.org #13 6 too high 20 
Customer Reviews Collector for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.7★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #16 4 too high 21 
Simple Shortcode for Google Maps 3K+ · 4.6★ (46)
wp.org #21 22 
Faview – Virtual Reviews for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.6★ (54)
wp.org #23 1 too low 23 
Very Simple Google Maps 3K+ · 4.5★ (17) thin reviews
wp.org #20 3 too high 24 
Jotform – Widgets for Google Reviews 200+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #19 5 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.