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

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 reading”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Sam Reading Time shows at wp.org #5 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 70+ 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

Envira Gallery – Image Photo Gallery, Albums, Video Gallery, Slideshows & More places #7 on merit, 4.7★ from 1596 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP Reading Progress 3K+ · 5.0★ (19) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 Reading Position Indicator 800+ · 5.0★ (66) wp.org #3 4 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 DearFlip – PDF Flipbook, 3D Flipbook, PDF embed, PDF viewer 200K+ · 4.9★ (194) wp.org #9 4 too low 6 MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3156) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 Envira Gallery – Image Photo Gallery, Albums, Video Gallery, Slideshows & More 100K+ · 4.7★ (1596) wp.org #15 ↓4 8 too low 8 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #14 ↑2 6 too low 9 Redis Object Cache 500K+ · 4.5★ (179) wp.org #10 1 too low 10 WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346) wp.org #12 ↑2 2 too low 11 Docket Cache – Object Cache Accelerator 20K+ · 4.9★ (50) wp.org #11 ↑2 12 Seraphinite Accelerator 50K+ · 4.8★ (476) wp.org #17 5 too low 13 Accessibility Widget by OneTap – Easy One-Click Accessibility Toolbar 60K+ · 4.9★ (80) wp.org #16 ↓1 3 too low 14 PDF Embedder – PDF Viewer & Embed PDF Files for WordPress 300K+ · 4.7★ (529) wp.org #24 10 too low 15 xSpeed Cache: AI-Powered Performance Hub with MCP, Caching & CDN 10K+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #20 ↑3 5 too low 16 Reading Time 200+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #4 12 too high 17 Clicky Analytics 10K+ · 4.5★ (25) wp.org #21 ↓3 4 too low 18 Magazine Blocks – Blog Designer, Magazine & Newspaper Website Builder, Page Builder with Posts Blocks, Post Grid 6K+ · 4.9★ (11) wp.org #23 ↓2 5 too low 19 BoltAudit – Site Speed Audit and Performance Insights 90+ · 4.6★ (9) wp.org #22 ↓3 3 too low 20 Marquee Addons for Elementor – Essential Motion Widgets & Templates 20K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #18 2 too high 21 Sam Reading Time 70+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 16 too high 22 Solid Performance – Your No-Code Caching, Performance, & Page Speed Solution 4K+ · 4.3★ (3) wp.org #8 14 too high 23 MinuteRead – Reading Time for Posts 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 ↓1 10 too high 24 Scroll to Top – Smooth Scroll Up, Back to Top & Reading Progress Bar 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↑1 5 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.