wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “share posts”
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 “share posts”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 2 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
ShareThis Share Buttons shows at wp.org #10 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.5★ average from 26 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Social Media Share Buttons & Social Sharing Icons places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 5333 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.
Simple Share Buttons Adder 40K+ · 4.3★ (627)
wp.org #1 2 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #2 ↑8 3 
SchedulePress – Auto Post & Publish, Auto Social Share, Schedule Posts with Editorial Calendar & Missed Schedule Post Publisher 10K+ · 4.6★ (201)
wp.org #3 ↓1 4 
AddToAny Share Buttons 300K+ · 4.7★ (1114) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #4 ↓1 5 
Social Share Icons & Social Share Buttons 10K+ · 4.9★ (1911) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too low 6 
WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #6 ↓1 7 Social Media Share Buttons & Social Sharing Icons 100K+ · 4.8★ (5333)
wp.org #17 ↓6 10 too low 8 
Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (587)
wp.org #12 4 too low 9 
Genesis Simple Share 10K+ · 4.4★ (33)
wp.org #5 ↓1 4 too high 10 
User Submitted Posts – Enable Users to Submit Posts from the Front End 10K+ · 4.8★ (913)
wp.org #16 ↑2 6 too low 11 
Inline Related Posts 100K+ · 4.3★ (77)
wp.org #8 ↓1 3 too high 12 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #11 ↑2 1 too high 13 
Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1236)
wp.org #19 6 too low 14 
Delete Duplicate Posts 10K+ · 4.8★ (153)
wp.org #13 ↑2 1 too high 15 
Super Web Share – Native Social Sharing Button 2K+ · 4.9★ (29)
wp.org #9 ↓1 6 too high 16 
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) not PHP-current
wp.org #18 ↑2 2 too low 17 
Related Posts by Taxonomy 10K+ · 4.8★ (77)
wp.org #22 5 too low 18 
Social Share Buttons 1K+ · 4.8★ (28)
wp.org #15 ↑2 3 too high 19 
Cresta Social Share Counter 2K+ · 4.8★ (55)
wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too low 20 
Share Buttons & AI-powered Summaries 1K+ · 5.0★ (16) thin reviews
wp.org #14 ↑2 6 too high 21 ShareThis Share Buttons 10K+ · 3.5★ (26) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #10 ↓1 11 too high 22 
Social Share Button 1K+ · 4.1★ (17) thin reviews
wp.org #21 1 too high 23 
Share This Image 1K+ · 4.1★ (22) thin reviews
wp.org #23 24 
Easy Share Solution For WordPress 900+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #24 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.