wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “score keeping”

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 “score keeping”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 5 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

Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… shows at wp.org #11 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 24 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Modular DS: Monitor, update, and backup multiple websites places #12 on merit, 5.0★ from 133 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

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #1 2

Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #2 3

LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #3 4

Imagify Image Optimization: Optimize Images | Compress & Convert to WebP/AVIF 900K+ · 4.3★ (1656) wp.org #5 1 too low 5

Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992) wp.org #8 3 too low 6

FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410) wp.org #6 7

Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN 1M+ · 4.8★ (6053) wp.org #10 ↓1 3 too low 8

All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) not PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #7 1 too high 9

Advanced IP Blocker 3K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #4 5 too high 10

Optimole – Optimize Images | Convert WebP & AVIF | CDN & Lazy Load | Image Optimization 200K+ · 4.7★ (640) wp.org #12 2 too low 11

10Web Booster – Website speed optimization, Cache & Page Speed optimizer 60K+ · 4.6★ (405) wp.org #13 2 too low 12

Modular DS: Monitor, update, and backup multiple websites 40K+ · 5.0★ (133) wp.org #19 7 too low 13

Safelayout Cute Preloader – CSS3 WordPress Preloader 10K+ · 5.0★ (84) wp.org #17 4 too low 14

Broken Link Checker 500K+ · 3.8★ (605) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #9 ↑1 5 too high 15

SureForms – Contact Form Builder, AI Forms, Payment Form, Survey & Quiz 500K+ · 4.8★ (102) wp.org #15 ↓1 16

Advanced Product Fields (Product Addons) for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.8★ (284) wp.org #22 ↑1 6 too low 17

Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #11 6 too high 18

Greenshift – animation and page builder blocks 70K+ · 4.8★ (107) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #14 ↑1 4 too high 19

TinyPNG Image Optimization – Image Compression JPEG & PNG | Convert to WebP & AVIF 100K+ · 4.5★ (181) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #20 1 too low 20

BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #18 2 too high 21

LukasApps CAPTCHA tools for Contact Form 7 100K+ · 4.1★ (48) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #16 5 too high 22

reGenerate Thumbnails Advanced 60K+ · 3.2★ (59) wp.org #23 ↑1 1 too low 23

Compromise Scanner for wp2shell 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #24 ↓2 1 too low 24

reCAPTCHA V3 for Jetpack 400+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #21 3 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.