wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “save resources”
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 resources”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 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
Remove Cookies From Static Resources shows at wp.org #7 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 100+ 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
Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 3221 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #1 2 
UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8708)
wp.org #2 ↑1 3 
Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262)
wp.org #3 ↓1 4 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322)
wp.org #4 ↑3 5 
WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617)
wp.org #5 ↓1 6 
LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778)
wp.org #6 7 
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #8 ↓3 1 too low 8 
WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470)
wp.org #11 ↑2 3 too low 9 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221)
wp.org #13 ↓1 4 too low 10 
WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209)
wp.org #12 ↓2 2 too low 11 
WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (199)
wp.org #10 ↑4 1 too high 12 
Form Vibes – Save Contact Form 7 & Elementor Form Entries to Database 10K+ · 4.9★ (132)
wp.org #9 ↑2 3 too high 13 
W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420)
wp.org #14 1 too low 14 
WP Armour – Honeypot Anti Spam 400K+ · 5.0★ (1472)
wp.org #18 4 too low 15 
Easy Digital Downloads – eCommerce Payments and Subscriptions made easy 40K+ · 4.7★ (591)
wp.org #17 ↑4 2 too low 16 
Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588)
wp.org #16 17 
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132)
wp.org #19 ↓2 2 too low 18 
WP Table Builder – Drag & Drop Table Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (681)
wp.org #20 2 too low 19 
Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN 1M+ · 4.8★ (6053)
wp.org #21 2 too low 20 
Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962)
wp.org #24 ↓1 4 too low 21 
10Web Booster – Website speed optimization, Cache & Page Speed optimizer 60K+ · 4.6★ (405)
wp.org #22 1 too low 22 
Matomo Analytics – Powerful, Privacy-First Insights for WordPress 100K+ · 4.6★ (178)
wp.org #23 ↓4 1 too low 23 
Purchased Items Column for WooCommerce Orders 700+ · 5.0★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #15 8 too high 24 Remove Cookies From Static Resources 100+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #7 ↑1 17 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.