wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “rows”
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 “rows”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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
Expandable Row for Beaver Builder shows at wp.org #3 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 900+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Page Builder by SiteOrigin places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 1005 reviews, but shows at wp.org #11. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625)
wp.org #1 2 
Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) heavy footprint
wp.org #2 3 
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821)
wp.org #4 ↑3 1 too low 4 
Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (587)
wp.org #5 1 too low 5 
wpDataTables – WordPress Data Table, Dynamic Tables & Table Charts Plugin 60K+ · 4.5★ (449)
wp.org #6 1 too low 6 
Easy Social Feed – All In One Social Feed Plugin for WordPress 30K+ · 4.6★ (502)
wp.org #9 ↑10 3 too low 7 Page Builder by SiteOrigin 400K+ · 4.8★ (1005)
wp.org #11 ↓2 4 too low 8 
Table Field Add-on for ACF and SCF 50K+ · 4.9★ (60)
wp.org #7 ↑5 1 too high 9 
Max Mega Menu 300K+ · 4.8★ (882)
wp.org #13 ↓2 4 too low 10 
Beaver Builder Page Builder – Drag and Drop Website Builder 100K+ · 4.7★ (394)
wp.org #14 4 too low 11 
Slider, Gallery, and Carousel by MetaSlider – Image Slider, Video Slider 500K+ · 4.6★ (742)
wp.org #15 ↓2 4 too low 12 
Advanced Editor Tools 1M+ · 4.5★ (354)
wp.org #12 ↓8 13 
GSheetConnector – CF7 Google Sheets Connector & Save CF7 Entries to Database 40K+ · 4.4★ (129) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #8 5 too high 14 
Data Tables Generator by Supsystic – Excel-like, WooCommerce & Pricing Tables 10K+ · 4.7★ (497)
wp.org #20 6 too low 15 
WP Table Builder – Drag & Drop Table Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (681)
wp.org #23 ↓2 8 too low 16 
WP-Sweep 100K+ · 4.7★ (138)
wp.org #17 ↓3 1 too low 17 
BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #10 7 too high 18 
GenerateBlocks 200K+ · 4.9★ (122)
wp.org #19 1 too low 19 Expandable Row for Beaver Builder 900+ · 4.3★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #3 16 too high 20 
Page Builder Gutenberg Blocks – CoBlocks 300K+ · 4.2★ (109) not PHP-current
wp.org #24 ↓4 4 too low 21 
MJDD Sidrena Cijena 700+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↑6 5 too high 22 
Grid Shortcodes 2K+ · 5.0★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #22 ↓5 23 
SheetFusion – Sync Google Sheets Into Tables. No Row Limits, No API Keys. 50+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↑2 2 too high 24 
Gridable 4K+ · 2.9★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↓3 6 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.