Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “starter”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 3 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

aThemes Starter Sites shows at wp.org #6 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 30K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

FooGallery Photo Gallery : Image, Video & Masonry Galleries places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 995 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Starter Templates: AI-Powered Website Templates for Elementor & Gutenberg 1M+ · 4.9★ (4755) wp.org #1 2 Starter Sites & Templates by Neve 100K+ · 4.7★ (77) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 Starter Templates & Sites Pack by ThemeGrill 70K+ · 4.7★ (197) wp.org #5 ↑2 2 too low 4 Kadence Starter Templates — Predesigned Website Templates 200K+ · 4.3★ (19) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #14 ↑3 9 too low 6 Twentig Supercharged Block Editor – Blocks, Patterns, Starter Sites, Portfolio 20K+ · 4.9★ (171) wp.org #10 ↓5 4 too low 7 FooGallery Photo Gallery : Image, Video & Masonry Galleries 100K+ · 4.8★ (995) wp.org #17 ↓1 10 too low 8 Responsive Starter Templates – Elementor Templates & Starter Sites 10K+ · 4.5★ (39) wp.org #8 ↑1 9 Blocksy Companion 300K+ · 4.7★ (93) wp.org #19 10 too low 10 AF Companion – Starter Sites, Speed Booster & Growth Suite for Professional Publishing 10K+ · 4.9★ (34) wp.org #12 ↑1 2 too low 11 MaxiBlocks Builder | 17,000+ Design Assets, Patterns, Icons & Starter Sites 600+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #20 ↓2 9 too low 12 Gutenify – Visual Site Builder Blocks & Starter Templates 5K+ · 4.5★ (11) wp.org #15 ↓1 3 too low 13 Inspiro Starter Sites – 20+ Free Demo Templates for Gutenberg & Elementor 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 10 too high 14 WPZOOM Addons for Elementor – Starter Templates & Widgets 20K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 ↑1 7 too high 15 affiliate-toolkit – Multi-Network Affiliate & Amazon Product Display 2K+ · 4.5★ (22) wp.org #23 8 too low 16 Spexo Addons for Elementor – Elementor Widgets, Mega Menu, Popup Builder, Template Kits and Starter Templates for Elementor 6K+ · 4.8★ (4) wp.org #21 5 too low 17 TemplateSpare – 1000+ WordPress Starter Templates & Full Site Migration Tool | 1-Click Import/Export & No-Code Builder 10K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too high 18 Ansar Import – One Click Starter Sites – for WordPress Themes 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 ↑1 7 too high 19 Starter Sites 900+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #9 ↑1 10 too high 20 Bosa Starter Sites 30K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 2 too high 21 S Starter Templates by Gradient Themes 2K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓2 1 too low 22 MantraBrain Starter Sites | MantraBrain Theme Demo Importer 1K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓1 2 too low 23 aThemes Starter Sites 30K+ · 2.0★ (2) wp.org #6 17 too high 24 Blocks Starter Templates – Block Templates & Patterns 1K+ · 3.0★ (1) wp.org #13 ↓2 11 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.