wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “rich edit”
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 “rich edit”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 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
Rich Table of Contents shows at wp.org #13 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 20K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.1★ average from 17 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 1281 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.
Rich Showcase for Google Reviews 100K+ · 4.9★ (1623)
wp.org #1 2 
TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625)
wp.org #3 1 too low 3 
Schema – All In One Schema Rich Snippets 30K+ · 4.0★ (162)
wp.org #2 1 too high 4 
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821)
wp.org #6 2 too low 5 
All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231)
wp.org #5 6 
Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7520)
wp.org #7 1 too low 7 Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281)
wp.org #12 5 too low 8 
The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461)
wp.org #10 ↑1 2 too low 9 
My Calendar – Accessible Event Manager 20K+ · 4.7★ (159)
wp.org #9 10 
AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874)
wp.org #15 ↑7 5 too low 11 
Smart Manager – Bulk Edit for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.4★ (288)
wp.org #11 ↑1 12 
JVM Rich Text Icons 3K+ · 5.0★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #4 8 too high 13 
Admin Columns 100K+ · 4.9★ (1652)
wp.org #21 ↑2 8 too low 14 
WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1916)
wp.org #16 ↓2 2 too low 15 
Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397)
wp.org #17 ↓1 2 too low 16 
Bulk Edit and Create User Profiles – WP Sheet Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (19) thin reviews
wp.org #8 8 too high 17 
File Manager 1M+ · 4.6★ (1492)
wp.org #19 ↓1 2 too low 18 
Black Studio TinyMCE Widget 200K+ · 4.8★ (191)
wp.org #18 ↓1 19 
BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55)
wp.org #14 ↑1 5 too high 20 
Schema & Structured Data for WP & AMP 100K+ · 4.5★ (252)
wp.org #20 ↓1 21 
BEAR – Bulk Editor for WooCommerce Professional. AI assistant on board (MCP Server) 30K+ · 4.7★ (228)
wp.org #23 2 too low 22 
Conditional Fields for Contact Form 7 100K+ · 4.8★ (166)
wp.org #24 ↓3 2 too low 23 
Broken Link Checker 500K+ · 3.8★ (605)
wp.org #22 ↓2 1 too high 24 Rich Table of Contents 20K+ · 4.1★ (17) thin reviews
wp.org #13 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.