wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “sftp”
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 “sftp”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 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
WebToffee WP Backup and Migration shows at wp.org #9 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 5K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.5★ average from 49 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
JetBackup – Backup, Restore & Migrate places #8 on merit, 4.5★ from 1056 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.
UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706)
wp.org #2 3 
WPvivid — Backup, Migration & Staging 900K+ · 4.9★ (1568)
wp.org #3 ↑1 4 
Backup Migration 80K+ · 4.9★ (1338)
wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too low 5 
Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too high 6 
Backuply – Backup, Restore, Migrate and Clone 600K+ · 4.5★ (135)
wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too high 7 
Product Feed Manager for WooCommerce – CTX Feed – Support 220+ Shopping, AI & Social Channels 90K+ · 4.6★ (838) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #7 ↑4 8 JetBackup – Backup, Restore & Migrate 200K+ · 4.5★ (1056)
wp.org #12 ↑3 4 too low 9 
Big File Uploads – Increase Maximum File Upload Size 100K+ · 4.9★ (402)
wp.org #13 ↓1 4 too low 10 
WP Import Export Lite 40K+ · 4.0★ (113)
wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too high 11 
Total Upkeep – WordPress Backup Plugin plus Restore & Migrate by BoldGrid 40K+ · 4.8★ (442) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too high 12 
Backup, Restore and Migrate your sites with XCloner 10K+ · 4.2★ (129)
wp.org #11 ↑3 1 too high 13 
File Manager 1M+ · 4.6★ (1492)
wp.org #18 ↑1 5 too low 14 
Simply Static – The Static Site Generator 30K+ · 4.5★ (195)
wp.org #16 ↓3 2 too low 15 
Advanced Shipment Tracking for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.5★ (355) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #14 ↓6 1 too high 16 WebToffee WP Backup and Migration 5K+ · 4.5★ (49) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #9 ↑1 7 too high 17 
GravityExport Lite for Gravity Forms 10K+ · 5.0★ (39)
wp.org #19 ↓1 2 too low 18 
WP Database Backup – Unlimited Database & Files Backup by Backup for WP 20K+ · 4.5★ (102)
wp.org #24 6 too low 19 
SpinupWP 30K+ · 5.0★ (13) thin reviews
wp.org #15 ↑1 4 too high 20 
Cloudways WordPress Migrator 10K+ · 4.2★ (36)
wp.org #17 3 too high 21 
Staatic – Static Site Generator for WordPress 3K+ · 4.4★ (21) thin reviews
wp.org #20 ↑2 1 too high 22 F FeedWordPress 8K+ · 4.2★ (61) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #22 ↓1 23 
Pantheon Migrations 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too high 24 
InstaWP Connect – 1-click WP Staging & Migration 40K+ · 4.5★ (11) thin reviews
wp.org #23 1 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.