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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “sources”

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 “sources”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

Add as Preferred Source on Google shows at wp.org #9 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 800+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 5 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 #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 27821 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 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #1 2 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #5 3 too low 3 Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012) wp.org #3 ↑1 4 Contact Form 7 10M+ · 4.0★ (2186) wp.org #4 ↓1 5 Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 Disabled Source, Disabled Right Click and Content Protection 10K+ · 4.9★ (103) wp.org #6 ↑3 7 All Sources Images – Free Images from Pixabay, Unsplash, Openverse, Pexels & Giphy 400+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #2 5 too high 8 Smart Slider 3 800K+ · 4.9★ (1125) wp.org #12 ↓1 4 too low 9 Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #11 ↑5 2 too low 10 Loco Translate 1M+ · 4.8★ (453) wp.org #10 ↓2 11 Image Source Control Lite – Show Image Credits and Captions 3K+ · 4.6★ (42) wp.org #7 ↓1 4 too high 12 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #20 8 too low 13 FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410) wp.org #13 14 WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (759) wp.org #14 15 Donation Platform for WooCommerce: Fundraising & Donation Management 7K+ · 4.9★ (99) wp.org #19 ↓1 4 too low 16 Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #16 ↓6 17 Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks 1M+ · 4.7★ (1872) wp.org #23 6 too low 18 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #21 3 too low 19 Seraphinite Post .DOCX Source 800+ · 4.6★ (45) wp.org #15 ↓3 4 too high 20 Activity Log – Monitor User and Agent Changes 200K+ · 4.3★ (74) wp.org #18 2 too high 21 Add as Preferred Source on Google 800+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #9 ↓2 12 too high 22 Data Source for Contact Form 7 300+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #17 ↓2 5 too high 23 LeadSource – UTM Tracking & Lead Source Attribution for Forms 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 ↑2 1 too high 24 Open Source Event Calendar 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24 ↓2

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.