wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “right now”
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 “right now”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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
Bitron Right of Withdrawal shows at wp.org #9 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 400+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI places #5 on merit, 4.8★ from 27820 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.
No Right Click Images 20K+ · 4.7★ (52)
wp.org #1 2 
Call Now Button – The Free Click to Call Button for WordPress 200K+ · 4.8★ (102)
wp.org #2 3 
WP Content Copy Protection & No Right Click 100K+ · 4.8★ (1139)
wp.org #6 ↓1 3 too low 4 
WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833)
wp.org #8 ↓1 4 too low 5 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27820)
wp.org #12 ↓1 7 too low 6 
Quick Buy Now Button for WooCommerce 50K+ · 5.0★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #3 3 too high 7 
CrawlWP SEO – Complete WordPress SEO Plugin with AI, Indexing & Search Performance 30K+ · 4.7★ (62)
wp.org #7 ↓1 8 
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281)
wp.org #15 7 too low 9 
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5040)
wp.org #14 5 too low 10 
Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7520)
wp.org #16 ↓3 6 too low 11 
WPC Buy Now Button for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (15) thin reviews
wp.org #5 ↓1 6 too high 12 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #11 1 too high 13 
Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery 300K+ · 4.3★ (4342)
wp.org #19 ↓5 6 too low 14 
Disable Right Click RB – Content Copy Protection, Prevent Copy & No Right Click 600+ · 4.2★ (14) thin reviews
wp.org #4 ↑5 10 too high 15 
All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231)
wp.org #20 ↓3 5 too low 16 
Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440)
wp.org #17 1 too low 17 
BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323)
wp.org #18 1 too low 18 
Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167)
wp.org #23 ↑1 5 too low 19 
WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway 700K+ · 3.1★ (237)
wp.org #13 ↓1 6 too high 20 
Free Downloads WooCommerce 4K+ · 4.7★ (85)
wp.org #24 ↓3 4 too low 21 
Product Enquiry for WooCommerce (Now with AI Assistant) 10K+ · 4.1★ (68)
wp.org #22 ↓3 1 too low 22 
Easy PayPal & Stripe Buy Now Button 10K+ · 4.5★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↓4 1 too high 23 
Right Click Ban – Disable Right Click & Content Copy Protection 400+ · 4.3★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #10 13 too high 24 B Bitron Right of Withdrawal 400+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #9 ↓1 15 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.