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

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 “sanity”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 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

AdminSanity shows at wp.org #12 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 20+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

S

Buried gem

SSH SFTP Updater Support places #5 on merit, 4.8★ from 99 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 Lord of the Files: Enhanced Upload Security 1K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #1 2 VigIA – AI Visibility, Analytics & Control 2K+ · 5.0★ (19) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 Address Validation and Autocomplete for WooCommerce | Addressfinder 900+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Imsanity 200K+ · 4.9★ (291) wp.org #18 ↑1 14 too low 5 S SSH SFTP Updater Support 10K+ · 4.8★ (99) wp.org #22 ↓1 17 too low 6 Pattern Wrangler – Manage Block Patterns and Pattern Categories 400+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #6 7 Icons Font Loader – use web icons anywhere on your site, fast 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 4 too high 8 Thumbnail Manager 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #5 3 too high 9 Altered Digital Migration to Sanity — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 One Two Three Send 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 2 too high 11 Phone Field with Country Code for Elementor – Pluginry 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 Static Cache Wrangler – Headless Assistant — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 2 too high 13 Fruti Media Integrity Audit — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 14 Multisite search visibility indicator — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 15 Profit Warden — WooCommerce Profit Calculator & Real ROAS Tracker — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 4 too high 16 CatCode Packaging Report — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 1 too high 17 Crawlwise – AI Readiness Scanner and Fixer — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 1 too high 18 Checkout Origin Guard 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 1 too high 19 AdminSanity 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 7 too high 20 Wise Widget Manager – Classic Widgets & Sidebar Control — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too high 21 agentprose — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 22 JR Field Generator For ACF — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓1 1 too low 23 Legalithm – EU AI Act Compliance — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓1 1 too low 24 GoldenRetriever AI Chat — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 4 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.