Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “speed audit”

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 “speed audit”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

Speed Analyzer – Speed Test & Performance Audit shows at wp.org #2 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 5209 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #1 2 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too low 3 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #5 ↓2 2 too low 4 Asset CleanUp: Page Speed Booster 100K+ · 4.9★ (1564) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN 1M+ · 4.8★ (6053) wp.org #8 ↓1 3 too low 6 Hummingbird Performance – Cache & Page Speed Optimization for Core Web Vitals | Critical CSS | Minify CSS | Defer CSS Javascript | CDN 70K+ · 4.7★ (1488) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 PixelYourSite – Your smart PIXEL (TAG) & API Manager 400K+ · 4.3★ (281) wp.org #11 ↑4 4 too low 8 Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall 80K+ · 4.8★ (334) wp.org #15 ↑2 7 too low 9 FooGallery Photo Gallery : Image, Video & Masonry Galleries 100K+ · 4.8★ (995) wp.org #14 ↓2 5 too low 10 BoltAudit – Site Speed Audit and Performance Insights 90+ · 4.6★ (9) wp.org #4 ↑1 6 too high 11 WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209) wp.org #21 ↓2 10 too low 12 BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) wp.org #13 ↓2 1 too low 13 Imagify Image Optimization: Optimize Images | Compress & Convert to WebP/AVIF 900K+ · 4.3★ (1656) wp.org #19 ↓3 6 too low 14 Robin Image Optimizer – Unlimited Image Optimization, WebP & AVIF 100K+ · 4.4★ (131) wp.org #16 ↓2 2 too low 15 Disable and Remove Google Fonts | GDPR & DSGVO friendly 100K+ · 4.5★ (46) wp.org #10 5 too high 16 Advanced IP Blocker 3K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #12 ↑1 4 too high 17 Speed Analyzer – Speed Test & Performance Audit 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #2 ↑2 15 too high 18 Activity Log Pro – User Activity Log, Audit Log & Security Monitor 400+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #18 ↑3 19 xSpeed Cache: AI-Powered Performance Hub with MCP, Caching & CDN 10K+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #22 3 too low 20 Premmerce Permalink Manager for WooCommerce 40K+ · 3.9★ (53) wp.org #20 21 Easy Optimizer – PageSpeed, Cache & Core Web Vitals (Unused CSS, Delay JS, Lazy Load) 1K+ · 4.6★ (18) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 Speed Bitcoin and Stablecoin Payments for WooCommerce 60+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 ↑1 15 too high 23 Logify WP – Activity Log & User Audit Log 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 ↑1 6 too high 24 Feather – Elementor Performance Optimizer | Asset Cleanup, Page Speed & Database Cleanup 90+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↑1 1 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.