wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “single post”
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 “single post”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 7 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
Variations as Single Product – Display Single Variation for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #10 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.8★ average from 17 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Duplicate Post places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 1623 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276)
wp.org #2 ↑1 1 too low 2 
Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528)
wp.org #3 ↓2 1 too low 3 
Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (587)
wp.org #4 1 too low 4 
Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1236)
wp.org #7 3 too low 5 
SAML Single Sign On – SSO Login 10K+ · 4.9★ (402)
wp.org #8 ↓1 3 too low 6 
Ultimate Post Kit – Elementor Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider & Blog Layout Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (58)
wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too high 7 
Export Single Post Page 3K+ · 4.7★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #1 ↑1 6 too high 8 
Post Duplicator 200K+ · 4.8★ (80)
wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too high 9 
The Post Grid – Shortcode, Gutenberg Blocks and Elementor Addon for Post Grid 100K+ · 4.8★ (265)
wp.org #9 ↓1 10 Duplicate Post 300K+ · 4.9★ (1623)
wp.org #20 ↓8 10 too low 11 
Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423)
wp.org #17 ↑2 6 too low 12 
Smart Post – Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider Gutenberg Blocks for Blog & News 20K+ · 4.7★ (210) heavy footprint
wp.org #13 ↓2 1 too low 13 
Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1525)
wp.org #23 10 too low 14 
Rate My Post – Star Rating Plugin by FeedbackWP 20K+ · 4.7★ (159) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #11 ↑6 3 too high 15 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #18 ↑4 3 too low 16 A ACF Post-2-Post 3K+ · 5.0★ (39)
wp.org #19 ↓4 3 too low 17 
Auto Featured Image (Auto Post Thumbnail) 40K+ · 3.8★ (119) not PHP-current
wp.org #16 ↓2 1 too high 18 
Multiple Domain Mapping on Single Site 6K+ · 4.6★ (48) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #15 3 too high 19 Variations as Single Product – Display Single Variation for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.8★ (17) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #10 ↓1 9 too high 20 
Duplicate Page and Post 70K+ · 4.6★ (29) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #12 ↓2 8 too high 21 
MWW Scheduled Post Trigger 60K+ · 4.4★ (27)
wp.org #24 ↓1 3 too low 22 
Duplicate Post – duplicate pages, copy content, clone posts 5K+ · 4.7★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #14 8 too high 23 
Better Post & Filter Widgets for Elementor 4K+ · 5.0★ (18) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #22 ↓2 1 too high 24 
Advanced Post Block – Display Your Posts Exactly How You Want 10K+ · 4.2★ (17) not PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↓3 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.