wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “screen content”
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 “screen content”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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
Content Update Scheduler shows at wp.org #13 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 12 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy places #9 on merit, 5.0★ from 4625 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418)
wp.org #1 2 
WP Content Copy Protection & No Right Click 100K+ · 4.8★ (1139)
wp.org #2 ↑1 3 
Content Control – The Ultimate Content Restriction Solution! Restrict Content, Create Conditional Blocks & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (575)
wp.org #3 ↑1 4 
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #4 ↓2 5 
Table of Contents Plus – Automatic Table of Contents for Posts & Pages 200K+ · 4.5★ (187)
wp.org #5 6 
Shortcodes Ultimate – Content Elements 400K+ · 4.9★ (5925)
wp.org #10 ↓3 4 too low 7 
Content Aware Sidebars – Fastest Widget Area Plugin 30K+ · 4.9★ (724)
wp.org #9 ↑1 2 too low 8 
Easy Table of Contents 600K+ · 4.4★ (221)
wp.org #7 ↑1 1 too high 9 TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625)
wp.org #15 6 too low 10 
MxChat – AI Chatbot & Content Generation for WordPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (31)
wp.org #6 4 too high 11 
Export media with selected content (by DKZR) 40K+ · 4.5★ (93)
wp.org #8 ↑1 3 too high 12 
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5040)
wp.org #17 ↑1 5 too low 13 
Cookies and Content Security Policy 10K+ · 4.9★ (67)
wp.org #12 ↑1 1 too high 14 
Loading Page with Loading Screen 10K+ · 4.6★ (124)
wp.org #14 ↑2 15 
Content Egg – Affiliate Product Importer & Price Comparison 10K+ · 3.9★ (56)
wp.org #11 4 too high 16 
Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440)
wp.org #23 7 too low 17 
Screen Reader Accessibility – WCAG, Text-to-Speech & AI Accessibility Fixes 600+ · 4.8★ (31)
wp.org #18 ↑1 1 too low 18 
Full Screen Background 2K+ · 4.9★ (45)
wp.org #24 6 too low 19 
Advanced Floating Content Lite 7K+ · 4.1★ (30)
wp.org #19 ↑1 20 Content Update Scheduler 2K+ · 4.3★ (12) thin reviews
wp.org #13 ↑1 7 too high 21 
Add to Home Screen & Progressive Web App 1K+ · 3.7★ (25)
wp.org #20 ↑1 1 too high 22 
Content Mask 1K+ · 5.0★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↑1 1 too high 23 C Custom Content Width 900+ · 4.8★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↑1 7 too high 24 
Full Screen Galleries 100+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #22 ↑1 2 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.