Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “running text”

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 “running text”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

ShortPixel AI Alt Text Generator shows at wp.org #13 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 90+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Quiz and Survey Master (QSM) – Quiz Maker & Survey Maker places #12 on merit, 4.7★ from 1282 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Text To Speech TTS Accessibility 4K+ · 4.8★ (92) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 LiveChat – Live Chat Plugin for WP Websites 10K+ · 4.6★ (98) wp.org #5 ↓1 3 too low 3 Marquee Running Text 5K+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 Auto Image Attributes From Filename With Bulk Updater (Add Alt Text, Image Title For Image SEO) 100K+ · 4.8★ (93) wp.org #6 ↑1 2 too low 5 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too low 6 Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397) wp.org #9 ↑2 3 too low 7 Text: AI chatbot, live chat & ticketing for customer service 100+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #4 ↑1 3 too high 8 AI Alt Text Generator 2K+ · 4.9★ (7) wp.org #3 5 too high 9 GSpeech TTS – WordPress Text To Speech Plugin 3K+ · 4.8★ (178) wp.org #11 2 too low 10 Affiliate Program Suite — SliceWP Affiliates 10K+ · 4.9★ (111) wp.org #12 2 too low 11 Slider, Gallery, and Carousel by MetaSlider – Image Slider, Video Slider 500K+ · 4.6★ (743) wp.org #14 ↓2 3 too low 12 Quiz and Survey Master (QSM) – Quiz Maker & Survey Maker 40K+ · 4.7★ (1282) wp.org #24 12 too low 13 BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) wp.org #18 ↑4 5 too low 14 Better Search Replace 1M+ · 4.3★ (546) wp.org #19 ↓5 5 too low 15 B2BKing — Ultimate WooCommerce B2B and Wholesale Plugin — Wholesale Prices, Bulk Order Form & More 10K+ · 4.9★ (109) wp.org #23 8 too low 16 Search & Replace Everything – Quick and Easy Way to Find and Replace Text, Links 20K+ · 4.7★ (26) wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too low 17 ImgSEO – AI Image Alt Text Generator & Image SEO Tools 400+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #8 ↑1 9 too high 18 SOOZ – AI for SEO – Bulk Generate Focus Keyphrases, Metadata, Alt Text (SEO Autopilot) 2K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #22 ↓4 4 too low 19 Add Plain-Text Email 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #10 9 too high 20 AI Text to Speech – TTS Plugin For WordPress 80+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #15 5 too high 21 Fix Alt Text 1K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #20 ↓12 1 too high 22 Filikod – Alt Text Checker & Bulk Image Alt Text Editor 200+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #21 1 too high 23 ShortPixel AI Alt Text Generator 90+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 ↑11 10 too high 24 MarqueeAll – Elementor Marquee for Image, Text, Post Grid, Testimonial, Cryptocurrency, Faqs & News Ticker 🌀 1K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↓1 8 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.