wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “setup wizard”
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 wizard”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 5 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
Beehive Analytics – Google Analytics Dashboard shows at wp.org #17 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 20K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.5★ average from 13 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833)
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★ (5210)
wp.org #2 3 
Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667)
wp.org #3 4 
All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231)
wp.org #4 5 
Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7520)
wp.org #6 1 too low 6 
Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528)
wp.org #5 1 too high 7 
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27820)
wp.org #8 1 too low 8 
Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940)
wp.org #7 1 too high 9 
Polylang 900K+ · 4.7★ (3004)
wp.org #11 2 too low 10 
WP 2FA – Two-factor authentication for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (184)
wp.org #9 1 too high 11 
Product Feed Manager for WooCommerce – CTX Feed – Support 220+ Shopping, AI & Social Channels 90K+ · 4.6★ (838)
wp.org #13 2 too low 12 
MultiVendorX – WooCommerce Multivendor Marketplace AI Powered Solutions 2K+ · 4.8★ (432)
wp.org #12 13 
Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184)
wp.org #10 3 too high 14 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #15 1 too low 15 
Check & Log Email – Easy Email Testing & Mail logging 90K+ · 4.8★ (292)
wp.org #18 3 too low 16 
Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186)
wp.org #16 17 
Disable Comments 1M+ · 4.7★ (281)
wp.org #14 3 too high 18 
Schema & Structured Data for WP & AMP 100K+ · 4.5★ (252)
wp.org #19 1 too low 19 
One Click SSL 10K+ · 4.9★ (139)
wp.org #21 2 too low 20 
Simply Schedule Appointments 50K+ · 5.0★ (155)
wp.org #23 3 too low 21 
Affiliate Program Suite — SliceWP Affiliates 10K+ · 4.9★ (111)
wp.org #22 1 too low 22 
Premmerce 400+ · 4.7★ (32)
wp.org #24 2 too low 23 Beehive Analytics – Google Analytics Dashboard 20K+ · 4.5★ (13) thin reviews
wp.org #17 6 too high 24 
Blogger Import Wizard – Blogger to WordPress Importer 80+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #20 4 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.