wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “save bandwidth”

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 “save bandwidth”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 3 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

NinjaScanner – Virus & Malware scan shows at wp.org #9 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 40K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 36 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Translate WordPress with GTranslate places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 4962 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #1 2

Download Manager 100K+ · 4.1★ (1006) wp.org #2 3

Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN 1M+ · 4.8★ (6053) wp.org #7 4 too low 4

PhastPress 10K+ · 4.9★ (99) wp.org #5 1 too low 5

Flying Images: Optimize and Lazy Load Images for Faster Page Speed 2K+ · 4.8★ (26) wp.org #3 2 too high 6

WP Armour – Honeypot Anti Spam 400K+ · 5.0★ (1471) wp.org #10 4 too low 7

WPSpeed – WordPress Speed, Cache & Performance Optimization (Core Web Vitals, PageSpeed 100) 2K+ · 4.9★ (40) wp.org #6 1 too high 8

All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #11 3 too low 9

W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #12 3 too low 10

Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #19 9 too low 11

Donation Thermometer 2K+ · 4.4★ (12) thin reviews wp.org #4 7 too high 12

TinyPNG Image Optimization – Image Compression JPEG & PNG | Convert to WebP & AVIF 100K+ · 4.5★ (181) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #8 4 too high 13

Admin Custom Login 10K+ · 4.6★ (388) wp.org #16 3 too low 14

Big File Uploads – Increase Maximum File Upload Size 100K+ · 4.9★ (402) wp.org #21 7 too low 15

Seriously Simple Podcasting 20K+ · 4.7★ (330) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #13 2 too high 16

Optimole – Optimize Images | Convert WebP & AVIF | CDN & Lazy Load | Image Optimization 200K+ · 4.7★ (640) wp.org #23 7 too low 17

NinjaScanner – Virus & Malware scan 40K+ · 4.0★ (36) wp.org #9 8 too high 18

ThumbPress – Compress Images, Manage Thumbnails, Detect Image Issues, WebP/AVIF, Lazy Loading, Hotlinking & More 20K+ · 3.7★ (117) wp.org #14 4 too high 19

WebP Express 300K+ · 4.4★ (162) wp.org #20 1 too low 20

Speed Up – Lazy Load 400+ · 4.3★ (12) thin reviews wp.org #15 5 too high 21

Jetpack VideoPress 7K+ · 4.0★ (16) thin reviews wp.org #17 4 too high 22

ezCache 10K+ · 4.6★ (5) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #22 23

Scrollchart 100+ · 5.0★ (1) heavy footprint thin reviews wp.org #18 5 too high 24

Bandwidth Saver: Image CDN — · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #24

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.