wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “separate”

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 “separate”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Linked Variations for WooCommerce – Link Separate Products by Attribute with Swatches, Quick View & Shortcodes shows at wp.org #4 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.2★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Database Addon for Contact Form 7 – CFDB7 places #11 on merit, 5.0★ from 1875 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #1 ↑2 2

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27820) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too low 3

Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #2 ↓1 1 too high 4

WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470) wp.org #5 1 too low 5

Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #6 1 too low 6

Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks 1M+ · 4.7★ (1872) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too low 7

Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #9 ↑8 2 too low 8

WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #10 ↓1 2 too low 9

Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #12 ↑1 3 too low 10

Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) wp.org #14 ↓2 4 too low 11

Database Addon for Contact Form 7 – CFDB7 600K+ · 5.0★ (1875) wp.org #17 ↑2 6 too low 12

Table of Contents Plus – Automatic Table of Contents for Posts & Pages 200K+ · 4.5★ (187) wp.org #11 ↓1 1 too high 13

WooPayments: Integrated WooCommerce Payments 800K+ · 3.4★ (177) wp.org #7 ↑1 6 too high 14

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 #21 ↑1 7 too low 15

Formidable Forms – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Payment, Calculator Form & Custom Form Builder 300K+ · 4.8★ (1388) wp.org #24 9 too low 16

SureForms – Contact Form Builder, AI Forms, Payment Form, Survey & Quiz 500K+ · 4.8★ (102) wp.org #18 ↓4 2 too low 17

Linked Variations for WooCommerce – Link Separate Products by Attribute with Swatches, Quick View & Shortcodes 500+ · 4.2★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #4 13 too high 18

We’re Open! 5K+ · 5.0★ (45) wp.org #20 ↑3 2 too low 19

WPC Linked Variation for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.7★ (15) thin reviews wp.org #16 ↑2 3 too high 20

morkva UA Shipping – Nova Poshta, Ukrposhta, Rozetka, Nova Global 1K+ · 4.9★ (29) wp.org #23 3 too low 21 L Login rebuilder 20K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #15 ↑1 6 too high 22

Hostinger Tools 3M+ · 3.5★ (40) host-installed base wp.org #13 ↓2 9 too high 23 M Multi Device Switcher 10K+ · 4.3★ (11) thin reviews wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too high 24

Browser Theme Color – Address Bar Color & Dark Mode 2K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #19 ↑5 5 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.