Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “spreads”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20.

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Reorder Terms shows at wp.org #7 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 1K+ 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

AdRotate Banner Manager places #5 on merit, 4.3★ from 655 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP Content Copy Protection & No Right Click 100K+ · 4.8★ (1139) wp.org #2 ↑2 1 too low 2 Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4358) wp.org #4 ↓2 2 too low 3 Search & Replace Everything – Quick and Easy Way to Find and Replace Text, Links 20K+ · 4.7★ (26) wp.org #3 4 Call Now Button – The Free Click to Call Button for WordPress 200K+ · 4.8★ (102) wp.org #5 ↑2 1 too low 5 AdRotate Banner Manager 20K+ · 4.3★ (655) wp.org #16 ↑1 11 too low 6 SVG Block 4K+ · 5.0★ (14) wp.org #6 7 Social Share Block – Help Visitors Spread Your Content Everywhere 2K+ · 4.3★ (3) wp.org #1 6 too high 8 Better Click To Share – Shareable Quote Boxes for X (Twitter) 6K+ · 4.8★ (48) wp.org #10 ↑1 2 too low 9 Confetti – Celebration Effects for WordPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (49) wp.org #11 ↓2 2 too low 10 Stickers for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.7★ (24) wp.org #8 2 too high 11 Bootstrap Blocks 10K+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #14 3 too low 12 Tarot, Oracle cards, Tarot readings, Tarokina 300+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #13 ↓1 1 too low 13 Embed YouTube Block – Fast Loading Videos, Shorts & Playlists 6K+ · 5.0★ (16) wp.org #12 ↑1 1 too high 14 Wp Social Login and Register Social Counter 70K+ · 4.6★ (67) wp.org #23 ↑1 9 too low 15 Show only lowest prices in variable products for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.8★ (28) wp.org #18 ↑1 3 too low 16 Lightbox Images for Divi Enhanced 4K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #17 ↑1 1 too low 17 Reorder by Term 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #9 ↑1 8 too high 18 Child Theme Check 700+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #15 ↑1 3 too high 19 Counting Number Block 2K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #19 ↑1 20 Icon Separator 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #21 ↓6 1 too low 21 Razorpay for WooCommerce 100K+ · 2.5★ (23) wp.org #20 ↑1 1 too high 22 Reorder Terms 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 ↓2 15 too high 23 Klarna for WooCommerce 20K+ · 2.3★ (20) wp.org #22 1 too high 24 Tarot Card Oracle 100+ · 3.4★ (5) wp.org #24 ↓1

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.