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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “rum”

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 “rum”, 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

ProRank SEO shows at wp.org #14 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 10+ 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

WP Compress – Instant Performance & Speed Optimization places #2 on merit, 4.5★ from 155 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Optimization Detective 60K+ · 4.3★ (3) wp.org #1 2 WP Compress – Instant Performance & Speed Optimization 10K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #22 ↓2 20 too low 3 SpeedVitals RUM 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Vibes 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 LWS Optimize – All-in-One Speed Booster & Cache Tools 20K+ · 4.6★ (9) wp.org #19 ↓1 14 too low 6 Performance Optimisation — · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #12 ↓1 6 too low 7 Site24x7 Real User Monitoring 100+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #4 3 too high 8 Core Web Vitals – Real User Monitoring (RUM) 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #5 3 too high 9 Convert AVIF, WebP & optimize images – Pixy Image Optimizer 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #9 10 Mudrava RUM — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #6 4 too high 11 Watchlog RUM — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 4 too high 12 Aftercare — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 2 too high 13 DebugHawk – WordPress Performance Monitoring & Debugging 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 5 too high 14 Fleet Agent Site Manager – Securely Connects Your Sites to a WPMgr Dashboard 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too high 15 ElementsBoost – Elementor Asset Cleanup & Page Speed Optimizer 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 ↓2 8 too low 16 turbometrics — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↓1 1 too high 17 NaveenCodes Core Web Vitals — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too high 18 Pingvera — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 ↓1 5 too high 19 Anonindo Performance Optimizer — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↓1 2 too high 20 ProRank SEO 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 ↓1 6 too high 21 Beky Cache Pilot — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 SysRadar — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓2 1 too high 23 PageVitals — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↓1 5 too high 24 Scrutoscope – WordPress Performance Profiler 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓2

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.