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← Rankings

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

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 “spots”, 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

Sign-up Sheets shows at wp.org #10 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.8★ average from 16 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 2433 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #1 2 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (759) wp.org #3 ↑3 4 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #4 ↓2 5 Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #6 ↑3 1 too low 6 Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1236) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433) wp.org #13 6 too low 8 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) wp.org #7 ↓4 1 too high 9 Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall 80K+ · 4.8★ (334) wp.org #12 3 too low 10 WP Job Manager 70K+ · 4.4★ (237) wp.org #11 ↓3 1 too low 11 Activity Log – Monitor User and Agent Changes 200K+ · 4.3★ (74) wp.org #8 ↑2 3 too high 12 WP Last Login 10K+ · 3.8★ (26) wp.org #5 ↓1 7 too high 13 WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312) wp.org #17 ↓4 4 too low 14 WP Meteor Website Speed Optimization Addon 20K+ · 4.7★ (77) wp.org #14 ↓7 15 Brizy – Page Builder 60K+ · 4.7★ (972) wp.org #23 ↓3 8 too low 16 SlimStat Analytics – Real-Time Stats, Heatmaps & Ecommerce 70K+ · 4.8★ (816) wp.org #19 ↑4 3 too low 17 Open User Map – Interactive Leaflet Maps 10K+ · 5.0★ (70) wp.org #20 3 too low 18 Sign-up Sheets 1K+ · 4.8★ (16) wp.org #10 ↓5 8 too high 19 StatCounter – Real Time Visitor Stats, Session Replay & Heatmaps 70K+ · 4.2★ (56) wp.org #18 ↓3 1 too high 20 Kikote – Location Picker at Checkout & Google Address AutoFill Plugin for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (65) wp.org #21 ↓4 1 too low 21 Social Share for WooCommerce 3K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #16 ↓5 5 too high 22 Confetti – Celebration Effects for WordPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (49) wp.org #22 ↓6 23 Klaviyo 100K+ · 2.8★ (24) wp.org #15 ↓1 8 too high 24 HookMeUp for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.9★ (7) wp.org #24 ↓6

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.