wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “shared 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 “shared posts”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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
Duplicate Post – duplicate pages, copy content, clone posts shows at wp.org #12 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 5K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.7★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security places #11 on merit, 4.7★ from 5040 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Shared Files – File Upload & Download Manager 4K+ · 4.4★ (34)
wp.org #1 2 
Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588)
wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too low 3 
Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510)
wp.org #4 ↓2 1 too low 4 
Delete Duplicate Posts 10K+ · 4.8★ (153)
wp.org #5 1 too low 5 
Shared Albums for Google Photos 500+ · 4.9★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #2 ↑1 3 too high 6 
SchedulePress – Auto Post & Publish, Auto Social Share, Schedule Posts with Editorial Calendar & Missed Schedule Post Publisher 10K+ · 4.6★ (201)
wp.org #6 7 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #7 8 
Bulk Edit Posts and Products in Spreadsheet 7K+ · 4.8★ (217)
wp.org #9 1 too low 9 
Post Duplicator 200K+ · 4.8★ (80)
wp.org #8 1 too high 10 
W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420)
wp.org #13 ↑1 3 too low 11 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5040)
wp.org #15 ↑1 4 too low 12 
WebberZone Top 10 — Popular Posts 10K+ · 4.6★ (102)
wp.org #10 2 too high 13 
Smash Balloon Social Post Feed – Simple Social Feeds for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (1511)
wp.org #20 7 too low 14 
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #17 ↓2 3 too low 15 
WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (199)
wp.org #16 ↓3 1 too low 16 
WP RSS Aggregator – RSS Import, Feed to Post, Autoblogging, AI Content 40K+ · 4.5★ (565)
wp.org #24 ↓3 8 too low 17 
Social Preview and Open Graph Tags 50K+ · 4.6★ (122)
wp.org #18 ↓1 1 too low 18 
CCI Posts Carousel All In One 2K+ · 4.6★ (27)
wp.org #11 7 too high 19 
Maintenance 1M+ · 4.4★ (869)
wp.org #22 ↑1 3 too low 20 
Peter's Post Notes – Admin Notes for Posts and Pages 3K+ · 4.9★ (26)
wp.org #14 ↓2 6 too high 21 Duplicate Post – duplicate pages, copy content, clone posts 5K+ · 4.7★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #12 9 too high 22 
Solid Post Likes 500+ · 4.8★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #19 ↓1 3 too high 23 
Advanced Post Block – Display Your Posts Exactly How You Want 10K+ · 4.2★ (17) thin reviews
wp.org #23 24 
Variation Shared Inventory for WooCommerce 500+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #21 3 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.