wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “shares”
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 “shares”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 6 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
WooCommerce PayPal Payments shows at wp.org #7 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 800K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.9★ average from 583 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 1322 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #1 2 
Social Media Share Buttons & Social Sharing Icons 100K+ · 4.8★ (5333)
wp.org #3 1 too low 3 
AddToAny Share Buttons 300K+ · 4.7★ (1114) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #2 1 too high 4 
Social Share Icons & Social Share Buttons 10K+ · 4.9★ (1911) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #4 ↑1 5 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #5 ↑1 6 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #9 ↓1 3 too low 7 
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) not PHP-current
wp.org #8 1 too low 8 
Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) not PHP-current
wp.org #6 ↓2 2 too high 9 
Simple Share Buttons Adder 40K+ · 4.3★ (627)
wp.org #11 ↓2 2 too low 10 
Polylang 900K+ · 4.7★ (3004)
wp.org #12 ↑1 2 too low 11 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #10 1 too high 12 PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322)
wp.org #21 ↓7 9 too low 13 
OG — Better Share on Social Media 20K+ · 4.8★ (216)
wp.org #16 ↑1 3 too low 14 
WPZOOM Connect: Social Icons Widget & Block, Share Buttons & Click to Chat 90K+ · 4.9★ (144)
wp.org #17 ↓2 3 too low 15 
Simple Social Media Share Buttons – Social Sharing for Everyone 20K+ · 4.8★ (194) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #14 ↓2 1 too high 16 
SchedulePress – Auto Post & Publish, Auto Social Share, Schedule Posts with Editorial Calendar & Missed Schedule Post Publisher 10K+ · 4.6★ (201)
wp.org #22 6 too low 17 WooCommerce PayPal Payments 800K+ · 2.9★ (583) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #7 ↑11 10 too high 18 
Genesis Simple Share 10K+ · 4.4★ (33)
wp.org #13 ↓2 5 too high 19 
WP Socializer – Simple & Easy Social Media Share Icons 10K+ · 4.5★ (128)
wp.org #24 ↓1 5 too low 20 
Buttonizer – Social Media Share Buttons, Social Icons, & Social Feeds 40K+ · 4.8★ (396) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #23 ↑1 3 too low 21 
Super Web Share – Native Social Sharing Button 2K+ · 4.9★ (29)
wp.org #18 3 too high 22 
Social Share for WooCommerce 3K+ · 5.0★ (12) thin reviews
wp.org #15 ↑1 7 too high 23 
Share a Draft 3K+ · 3.7★ (11) thin reviews
wp.org #20 ↑1 3 too high 24 
ShareThis Share Buttons 10K+ · 3.5★ (26) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #19 ↑1 5 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.