Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “rss plugin”

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 “rss plugin”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Admin Dashboard RSS Feed shows at wp.org #13 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Polylang places #9 on merit, 4.7★ from 3003 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP RSS Aggregator – RSS Import, Feed to Post, Autoblogging, AI Content 40K+ · 4.5★ (565) wp.org #1 2 RSS Aggregator by Feedzy – Feed to Post, Autoblogging, News & YouTube Video Feeds Aggregator 40K+ · 4.6★ (361) wp.org #2 3 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #3 4 Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157) wp.org #4 5 SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO 300K+ · 4.8★ (1267) wp.org #9 ↓1 4 too low 6 Super RSS Reader – Add attractive RSS Feed Widget 9K+ · 4.6★ (67) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Featured Images in RSS for Mailchimp & More 20K+ · 4.3★ (113) wp.org #7 8 WPeMatico RSS Feed Fetcher 10K+ · 4.8★ (514) wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too low 9 Polylang 900K+ · 4.7★ (3003) wp.org #20 ↑3 11 too low 10 RSS Includes Pages 10K+ · 3.9★ (17) wp.org #6 4 too high 11 CMP – Coming Soon & Maintenance Plugin by NiteoThemes 200K+ · 4.7★ (326) wp.org #22 ↓1 11 too low 12 Slim SEO – AI SEO Plugin, Lightweight, Fast & Automated 70K+ · 4.7★ (136) wp.org #21 ↓1 9 too low 13 RSS Feed Widget 2K+ · 3.9★ (26) wp.org #8 ↑9 5 too high 14 GN Publisher: Google News Compatible RSS Feeds 20K+ · 4.9★ (29) wp.org #16 ↓1 2 too low 15 AWP Classifieds 3K+ · 4.6★ (301) wp.org #18 3 too low 16 A Add Featured Image to RSS Feed 2K+ · 4.3★ (12) wp.org #14 ↓1 2 too high 17 Import XML and RSS Feeds 2K+ · 3.8★ (24) wp.org #23 ↓1 6 too low 18 RSS Enhancements for The Events Calendar 100+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #24 6 too low 19 RSS Feed Pro 400+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #19 20 RSS Control 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 ↓1 10 too high 21 Featured Image in RSS Feed by MailerLite 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↓1 9 too high 22 RSS Chimp – Add Featured Images to WP RSS Feeds (Mailchimp, Google News, Feedly) 400+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↓1 5 too high 23 RSS Retriever Lite 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↓1 8 too high 24 Admin Dashboard RSS Feed 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 ↓1 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.