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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “simple plugin”

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 “simple plugin”, 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

Download Plugin shows at wp.org #7 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 60K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.5★ average from 27 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 1281 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #1 2 Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) wp.org #2 3 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 Simple Membership 40K+ · 4.6★ (475) wp.org #3 ↑4 1 too high 5 Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes 300K+ · 4.9★ (491) wp.org #5 ↑1 6 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (587) wp.org #6 ↓1 7 Simple Share Buttons Adder 40K+ · 4.3★ (627) wp.org #10 3 too low 8 Business Directory Plugin – Easy Listing & Member Directories for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (504) wp.org #11 ↑2 3 too low 9 Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #15 ↑8 6 too low 10 Really Simple CAPTCHA 300K+ · 4.2★ (131) wp.org #8 ↑1 2 too high 11 Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) wp.org #9 ↑2 2 too high 12 Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #13 ↑6 1 too low 13 Contact Form 7 10M+ · 4.0★ (2186) wp.org #12 ↑3 1 too high 14 Download Plugin 60K+ · 4.5★ (27) wp.org #7 ↑1 7 too high 15 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #22 7 too low 16 BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) wp.org #14 ↑8 2 too high 17 Simple Download Monitor 20K+ · 4.7★ (158) wp.org #20 3 too low 18 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #21 ↓1 3 too low 19 Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167) wp.org #24 5 too low 20 R Really Simple CSV Importer 40K+ · 4.9★ (107) wp.org #23 3 too low 21 Seriously Simple Podcasting 20K+ · 4.7★ (330) wp.org #18 ↓6 3 too high 22 S Simple Lightbox 100K+ · 4.3★ (239) wp.org #19 ↓1 3 too high 23 Simple Author Box 90K+ · 4.3★ (115) wp.org #16 7 too high 24 SEO SIMPLE PACK 100K+ · 4.6★ (14) wp.org #17 7 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.