Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “site memory”

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 memory”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Plugin Memory Usage shows at wp.org #3 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 600+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 8706 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Site Reviews 60K+ · 4.9★ (376) wp.org #1 2 Migrate Guru – Site Migration & Cloning 200K+ · 4.9★ (1645) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 WP-Memory-Usage 10K+ · 4.5★ (21) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470) wp.org #9 4 too low 6 NS Cloner – Site Cloner and Multisite Duplicator 6K+ · 4.7★ (279) wp.org #6 ↑1 7 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 Simply Static – The Static Site Generator 30K+ · 4.5★ (195) wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too high 9 All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676) wp.org #10 1 too low 10 AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874) wp.org #16 ↑1 6 too low 11 Max Mega Menu 300K+ · 4.8★ (882) wp.org #18 7 too low 12 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #20 8 too low 13 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #12 ↑2 1 too high 14 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #13 ↓1 1 too high 15 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #17 ↓2 2 too low 16 Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641) wp.org #23 ↓4 7 too low 17 DiveWP – Boost Site Performance with Clear, Actionable Steps 200+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #15 ↓2 2 too high 18 Plugin Memory Usage 600+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 15 too high 19 UWH Site Migrator – WP Migration, Backup & Restore 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #14 5 too high 20 Lock My Site 60+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #24 ↓1 4 too low 21 Memory Limit Manager 600+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 10 too high 22 Fleet Agent Site Manager – Securely Connects Your Sites to a WPMgr Dashboard 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 ↓3 3 too high 23 Universally – AI Translation & Multilingual SEO: Translate Your Site into 110+ Languages 30K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 ↓2 1 too high 24 RS Remote Site Manager 90+ · 5.0★ (1) 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.