wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “submit url”
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 “submit url”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 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
URL Image Importer – Import External Images to the Media Library from URL, CSV & XML shows at wp.org #7 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 1K+ 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
Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 807 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Export All URLs 50K+ · 4.6★ (94)
wp.org #1 ↑2 2 
User Submitted Posts – Enable Users to Submit Posts from the Front End 10K+ · 4.8★ (913)
wp.org #5 3 too low 3 
PublishPress Revisions: Duplicate Posts, Submit, Approve and Schedule Content Changes 10K+ · 4.6★ (66)
wp.org #4 1 too low 4 
Bing URL Submissions Plugin 40K+ · 3.3★ (21) thin reviewslow rating, top placement
wp.org #2 ↓1 2 too high 5 
Redirection 2M+ · 4.4★ (703)
wp.org #8 3 too low 6 
Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262)
wp.org #11 5 too low 7 Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807)
wp.org #14 ↓1 7 too low 8 
Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551)
wp.org #15 7 too low 9 
Advance Canonical URL 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #3 ↓1 6 too high 10 
Ultra Addons for Contact Form 7 60K+ · 4.8★ (108)
wp.org #17 7 too low 11 
Better Search Replace 1M+ · 4.3★ (546)
wp.org #16 5 too low 12 
SVG Support 1M+ · 4.8★ (356)
wp.org #18 6 too low 13 
MetForm – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Conditional Forms, Form Templates & Custom Form Builder for Elementor 500K+ · 4.7★ (509)
wp.org #23 10 too low 14 
My Calendar – Accessible Event Manager 20K+ · 4.7★ (159)
wp.org #24 ↓3 10 too low 15 
Show Pages URL List 1K+ · 4.4★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #6 9 too high 16 
Search Regex 100K+ · 4.7★ (101)
wp.org #22 6 too low 17 
IndexNow Plugin 100K+ · 3.2★ (47)
wp.org #12 5 too high 18 
IndexPro – URL Indexing Manager 20+ · 5.0★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #19 1 too low 19 
Random Post Plugin – Redirect URL to Post 3K+ · 5.0★ (20) thin reviews
wp.org #20 ↓2 1 too low 20 
Zhanzhangb Indexing Submission for Baidu 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #9 11 too high 21 URL Image Importer – Import External Images to the Media Library from URL, CSV & XML 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #7 14 too high 22 
Download PDF After Submit Form 400+ · 3.2★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #10 12 too high 23 
多合一搜索自动推送管理插件-支持Baidu/Google/Bing/IndexNow/Yandex/头条 2K+ · 2.6★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #13 ↑1 10 too high 24 
Instant Indexing & Check for Google and Bing SEO 400+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↓1 3 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.