wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “sitemap”
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 “sitemap”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 2 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
WP Simple HTML Sitemap shows at wp.org #13 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.9★ average from 10 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder places #11 on merit, 4.5★ from 7323 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #1 2 
XML Sitemap Generator for Google 1M+ · 4.8★ (2233)
wp.org #2 3 
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821)
wp.org #3 ↑1 4 
WP Sitemap Page 200K+ · 4.8★ (205)
wp.org #4 ↓1 5 
Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519)
wp.org #7 ↓2 2 too low 6 
XML Sitemap & Google News 100K+ · 4.4★ (85)
wp.org #5 ↑2 1 too high 7 
Simple Sitemap – Responsive HTML Sitemap for WordPress 60K+ · 3.9★ (72)
wp.org #6 1 too high 8 
LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778)
wp.org #14 ↓5 6 too low 9 
Dynamic XML Sitemaps Generator for Google 20K+ · 4.7★ (47)
wp.org #8 1 too high 10 
Sitemap by BestWebSoft – WordPress XML Site Map Page Generator Plugin 20K+ · 4.3★ (115)
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 #19 ↑4 8 too low 12 
HTML Page Sitemap (Block and Shortcode) 10K+ · 4.4★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #10 2 too high 13 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #24 11 too low 14 
Hierarchical HTML Sitemap 4K+ · 5.0★ (12) thin reviews
wp.org #11 3 too high 15 
Companion Sitemap Generator – Simple, Smart, and SEO-Ready 6K+ · 4.7★ (55)
wp.org #20 ↑1 5 too low 16 
Kwayy HTML Sitemap 6K+ · 4.7★ (18) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #9 7 too high 17 
SureRank SEO – Meta Tags, Social Preview, XML Sitemap, Schema & Open Graph 300K+ · 4.8★ (51)
wp.org #21 ↓5 4 too low 18 
Sitemap Generator 3K+ · 3.7★ (23) thin reviews
wp.org #15 ↑1 3 too high 19 
Disable WP Sitemaps 10K+ · 5.0★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↑2 1 too high 20 
Simple XML Sitemap Generator 3K+ · 4.6★ (11) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↑2 4 too high 21 WP Simple HTML Sitemap 3K+ · 4.9★ (10) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #13 ↑1 8 too high 22 D Display HTML Sitemap 1K+ · 4.0★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #17 ↑3 5 too high 23 S Surbma | Yoast SEO Sitemap to robots.txt 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #23 ↑1 24 
WP Sitemap Pages and Posts 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #22 2 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.