wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “social plugins”
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 “social plugins”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 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
Ocean Social Sharing shows at wp.org #16 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 60K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.5★ average from 11 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin places #11 on merit, 4.4★ from 1445 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706)
wp.org #1 2 
Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4358)
wp.org #2 ↓1 3 
Social Media Share Buttons & Social Sharing Icons 100K+ · 4.8★ (5333)
wp.org #5 ↓3 2 too low 4 
Wp Social Login and Register Social Counter 70K+ · 4.6★ (67)
wp.org #3 ↑5 1 too high 5 
Scriptless Social Sharing 10K+ · 5.0★ (70)
wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too high 6 
Social Share Icons & Social Share Buttons 10K+ · 4.9★ (1911) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too low 7 
Spotlight Social Photo Feed 50K+ · 4.7★ (171)
wp.org #8 ↓5 1 too low 8 
Easy Social Feed – All In One Social Feed Plugin for WordPress 30K+ · 4.6★ (502)
wp.org #10 2 too low 9 
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 #9 ↓2 10 
Widgets for Social Photo Feed 10K+ · 4.7★ (28)
wp.org #6 ↑3 4 too high 11 Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #17 ↓1 6 too low 12 
WP Social Ninja – Embed Social Feeds, User Reviews & Chat Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (71)
wp.org #11 ↑4 1 too high 13 
Simple Social Icons 100K+ · 4.3★ (92)
wp.org #14 ↓3 1 too low 14 
Simple Social Media Share Buttons – Social Sharing for Everyone 20K+ · 4.8★ (194) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #13 ↓3 1 too high 15 
Social Feed Gallery 80K+ · 4.5★ (303)
wp.org #21 6 too low 16 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #19 3 too low 17 
Hubbub Lite – Fast, free social sharing and follow buttons 30K+ · 4.7★ (173)
wp.org #23 ↓5 6 too low 18 
Metricool – Social media and site statistics 90K+ · 4.4★ (23) thin reviews
wp.org #12 ↑7 6 too high 19 
GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #20 ↓6 1 too low 20 
Bit Social – Social Media Auto Poster and Scheduler 6K+ · 4.5★ (36)
wp.org #18 ↓5 2 too high 21 
Jetpack Social 30K+ · 3.3★ (74)
wp.org #15 ↓11 6 too high 22 
Inavii Social Feed – Live Social Proof Gallery 9K+ · 5.0★ (17) thin reviews
wp.org #22 ↓5 23 Ocean Social Sharing 60K+ · 4.5★ (11) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↓4 7 too high 24 
Social Sharing Plugin – Kiwi 4K+ · 4.1★ (18) thin reviews
wp.org #24 ↓4 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.