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

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 “same”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20.

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

SamedayCourier Shipping shows at wp.org #11 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 4K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.7★ average from 14 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Post Views Counter places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 1237 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 signals wp.org

Polylang 900K+ · 4.7★ (3004) wp.org #3 2 too low 2

Same Category Posts 3K+ · 4.7★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #1 1 too high 3

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #4 ↑10 5

WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too low 6

GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too high 7

BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) wp.org #8 1 too low 8

Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #13 ↓2 5 too low 9

Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1237) wp.org #20 11 too low 10

Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) wp.org #18 ↓5 8 too low 11

Smart Image Resize for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.6★ (82) wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too high 12

Enable Media Replace 600K+ · 4.4★ (302) wp.org #12 ↑5 13

CodeKit – Custom Codes Editor 7K+ · 4.8★ (16) thin reviews wp.org #6 ↓1 7 too high 14

WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #22 ↓2 8 too low 15

Kraken.io Image Optimizer – Compress, Convert to WebP & AVIF, Resize & Bulk Optimize 10K+ · 4.5★ (119) wp.org #16 ↓2 1 too low 16

Relevanssi – A Better Search 100K+ · 4.8★ (406) wp.org #23 ↓5 7 too low 17

Backuply – Backup, Restore, Migrate and Clone 600K+ · 4.5★ (135) wp.org #15 2 too high 18

Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276) wp.org #17 1 too high 19

Social Preview and Open Graph Tags 50K+ · 4.6★ (122) wp.org #21 ↓5 2 too low 20

Press This 5K+ · 3.7★ (25) wp.org #9 ↓2 11 too high 21

WCPOS – Point of Sale (POS) plugin for WooCommerce 5K+ · 3.7★ (84) wp.org #14 ↓2 7 too high 22

Campos Checkout Brasileiro para WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.9★ (45) wp.org #19 ↑2 3 too high 23

SamedayCourier Shipping 4K+ · 2.7★ (14) thin reviews wp.org #11 ↓1 12 too high 24

Keep Pagination in Same Taxonomy 100+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #24 ↓5

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.