wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “scratch it”

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 “scratch it”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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

Scratch & Win – Giveaways and Contests. Boost subscribers, traffic, repeat visits, referrals, sales and more shows at wp.org #7 but places #13 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.7★ average from 30 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager places #11 on merit, 5.0★ from 1525 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

Poptin – Email Marketing Automation, Newsletter & Exit Pop Ups, Email Popups 20K+ · 4.9★ (701) wp.org #1 2

Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #2 3

ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #3 ↑2 4

Max Mega Menu 300K+ · 4.8★ (882) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5

MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435) heavy footprint wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too high 6

User Role Editor 700K+ · 4.5★ (288) wp.org #6 ↑1 7

Meow Gallery 10K+ · 4.9★ (203) wp.org #8 1 too low 8

PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #11 3 too low 9

wpDataTables – WordPress Data Table, Dynamic Tables & Table Charts Plugin 60K+ · 4.5★ (449) wp.org #9 ↑1 10

Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433) wp.org #13 ↑6 3 too low 11

Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1525) wp.org #19 ↑3 8 too low 12

SureForms – Contact Form Builder, AI Forms, Payment Form, Survey & Quiz 500K+ · 4.8★ (102) wp.org #10 ↓1 2 too high 13

Scratch & Win – Giveaways and Contests. Boost subscribers, traffic, repeat visits, referrals, sales and more 100+ · 4.7★ (30) wp.org #7 ↓3 6 too high 14

WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (195) wp.org #16 ↓1 2 too low 15

AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874) wp.org #22 7 too low 16

YOP Poll 10K+ · 4.4★ (452) wp.org #17 ↓4 1 too low 17

Export and Import Users and Customers 50K+ · 4.8★ (442) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #12 5 too high 18

Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4358) wp.org #24 ↓8 6 too low 19

Xpro Theme Builder For Elementor – FREE 20K+ · 5.0★ (14) thin reviews wp.org #14 ↑3 5 too high 20

TableKit – WordPress Table Builder for Data Tables, WooCommerce Product Tables & Post Tables 3K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #15 ↓1 5 too high 21

Email Marketing by EmailOctopus 4K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #23 ↑1 2 too low 22

Tutor LMS Elementor Addons 30K+ · 3.5★ (8) thin reviews wp.org #20 ↑1 2 too high 23

MailerLite – Signup forms (official) 100K+ · 2.9★ (41) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #21 ↑2 2 too high 24

Scratch and Win 100+ · 4.5★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #18 ↑2 6 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.