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← Rankings

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

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 “setup”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 4 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

Setup Default Featured Image shows at wp.org #6 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 400+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 6053 reviews, but shows at wp.org #12. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 CookieYes – Cookie Banner for Cookie Consent (Easy to setup GDPR/CCPA Compliant Cookie Notice) 1M+ · 4.8★ (3236) wp.org #1 2 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 #3 ↓1 1 too low 3 Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012) wp.org #2 ↑1 1 too high 4 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #4 ↑2 5 Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #5 ↑2 6 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #9 ↑3 3 too low 7 Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN 1M+ · 4.8★ (6053) wp.org #12 ↑4 5 too low 8 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #13 ↑1 5 too low 9 Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528) wp.org #11 ↓1 2 too low 10 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #7 ↓2 3 too high 11 Filter Everything — WordPress & WooCommerce Filters 50K+ · 4.6★ (154) wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too high 12 Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups 80K+ · 4.4★ (859) wp.org #17 ↑3 5 too low 13 WP 2FA – Two-factor authentication for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (184) wp.org #14 1 too low 14 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #23 9 too low 15 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #16 ↓5 1 too low 16 Nextend Social Login and Register 200K+ · 4.9★ (446) wp.org #24 ↓3 8 too low 17 Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) wp.org #19 ↓2 2 too low 18 Jetpack Protect 100K+ · 4.6★ (123) wp.org #22 ↑2 4 too low 19 Spam Protection | Maspik 30K+ · 4.7★ (87) wp.org #21 ↓8 2 too low 20 JSM Force HTTP to HTTPS / SSL – No Setup, Fast and Reliable 7K+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #8 12 too high 21 WooPayments: Integrated WooCommerce Payments 800K+ · 3.4★ (177) wp.org #15 ↑3 6 too high 22 WooCommerce PayPal Payments 800K+ · 2.9★ (583) wp.org #20 2 too high 23 Setup Default Featured Image 400+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #6 ↓2 17 too high 24 Cron Setup and Monitor – Get URL Cron 1K+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #18 ↓3 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.