wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “site changes”
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 “site changes”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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
List Last Changes shows at wp.org #8 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.8★ average from 11 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 27821 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.
Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423)
wp.org #1 2 
Site Reviews 60K+ · 4.9★ (376)
wp.org #2 3 
TranslatePress – Translate Multilingual sites with AI Translation 400K+ · 4.7★ (1667)
wp.org #3 4 
Schedule Post Changes With PublishPress Future: Unpublish, Delete, Change Status, Trash, Change Categories 100K+ · 4.5★ (172)
wp.org #4 5 
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039)
wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6 
Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes 300K+ · 4.9★ (491)
wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too low 7 
Migrate Guru – Site Migration & Cloning 200K+ · 4.9★ (1645)
wp.org #10 ↓1 3 too low 8 
Activity Log – Monitor User and Agent Changes 200K+ · 4.3★ (74)
wp.org #5 ↑2 3 too high 9 
SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO 300K+ · 4.8★ (1267)
wp.org #12 3 too low 10 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821)
wp.org #15 ↑3 5 too low 11 
Restricted Site Access 10K+ · 4.8★ (62)
wp.org #9 ↓1 2 too high 12 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #11 1 too high 13 
Change Admin Email 40K+ · 4.8★ (141)
wp.org #14 ↑1 1 too low 14 
NS Cloner – Site Cloner and Multisite Duplicator 6K+ · 4.7★ (279)
wp.org #16 2 too low 15 
UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8708)
wp.org #24 ↓5 9 too low 16 
MainWP Child – Securely Connects to the MainWP Dashboard to Manage Multiple Sites 700K+ · 5.0★ (71)
wp.org #13 3 too high 17 
Simply Static – The Static Site Generator 30K+ · 4.5★ (195)
wp.org #18 ↓4 1 too low 18 List Last Changes 1K+ · 4.8★ (11) thin reviews
wp.org #8 ↑2 10 too high 19 
My Private Site – Make Your Whole Site Private, Force Login & Block Registration Spam 10K+ · 4.5★ (82)
wp.org #17 2 too high 20 
Multiple Domain Mapping on Single Site 6K+ · 4.6★ (48)
wp.org #20 21 
SureFeedback Client Site 5K+ · 4.0★ (39)
wp.org #21 22 
Simple Admin Language Change 10K+ · 4.7★ (22) thin reviews
wp.org #23 1 too low 23 
Melapress File Monitor 5K+ · 4.1★ (32)
wp.org #22 1 too high 24 
WP Global Site Tag 7K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
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.