wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “roll”
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 “roll”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 2 plugins are 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 it throws errors on current PHP, whether the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.
Ranked above its merit
PlugVersions – Easily roll back to previous versions of your plugins. shows at wp.org #3 but places #10 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.4★ average from 8 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
PublishPress Capabilities: User Role Access Control, Admin Area Permissions places #12 on merit, 4.7★ from 143 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
WP Rollback – Rollback Plugins and Themes 200K+ · 4.9★ (215)
wp.org #1 2 
All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #2 3 
Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423)
wp.org #5 ↓1 2 too low 4 
Barcode Generator: Print Product Labels & Order Barcode Label (A4, Thermal/Roll, Letter) 900+ · 4.5★ (74)
wp.org #4 ↑1 5 
Page Builder by SiteOrigin 400K+ · 4.8★ (1005)
wp.org #8 ↑1 3 too low 6 
Backuply – Backup, Restore, Migrate and Clone 600K+ · 4.5★ (135)
wp.org #6 ↑4 7 
WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (195)
wp.org #10 ↓2 3 too low 8 
ManageWP Worker 1M+ · 4.6★ (679)
wp.org #9 ↓2 1 too low 9 
GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155)
wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too high 10 PlugVersions – Easily roll back to previous versions of your plugins. 1K+ · 4.4★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #3 7 too high 11 
Affiliate Program Suite — SliceWP Affiliates 10K+ · 4.9★ (111)
wp.org #14 3 too low 12 PublishPress Capabilities: User Role Access Control, Admin Area Permissions 90K+ · 4.7★ (143)
wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too low 13 
To Top 60K+ · 4.8★ (54) not PHP-current
wp.org #11 2 too high 14 
Lazy Load for Videos 9K+ · 4.4★ (105) not PHP-current
wp.org #12 2 too high 15 
Image Hover Effects – Elementor Addon 40K+ · 4.9★ (83)
wp.org #21 ↓1 6 too low 16 
Woody Code Snippets – Insert PHP, CSS, JS, and Header/Footer Scripts 50K+ · 4.5★ (221) not PHP-current
wp.org #19 3 too low 17 
Hide Posts 20K+ · 4.7★ (22) thin reviews
wp.org #13 4 too high 18 
BEAR – Bulk Editor for WooCommerce Professional. AI assistant on board (MCP Server) 30K+ · 4.7★ (228) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #20 ↑2 2 too low 19 
WP Custom Admin Interface 30K+ · 4.7★ (160) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #23 4 too low 20 
Cyr to Lat Reloaded – Transliteration of Links and File Names 30K+ · 4.5★ (15) thin reviews
wp.org #15 ↑1 5 too high 21 
Search & Replace Everything – Quick and Easy Way to Find and Replace Text, Links 20K+ · 4.7★ (26)
wp.org #24 3 too low 22 
Secure MCP Server for Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini and other AI Agents 8K+ · 5.0★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #22 ↓1 23 
Cowboy MCP – Free MCP Server with Undo for Claude & ChatGPT 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #18 5 too high 24 
Version Locker: Disable Updates, Rollback and Downgrade 100+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #17 7 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.