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

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 “suggestions”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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

Exclude Attachment Link Suggestions shows at wp.org #5 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 80+ 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.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #1 2

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #4 2 too low 3

Better Find and Replace – AI-Powered Suggestions 40K+ · 4.6★ (171) wp.org #3 4

Relevanssi – A Better Search 100K+ · 4.8★ (406) wp.org #6 2 too low 5

SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO 300K+ · 4.8★ (1267) wp.org #7 2 too low 6

Products Suggestions for WooCommerce 600+ · 5.0★ (12) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #2 4 too high 7

All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) not PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #9 ↓2 2 too low 8

Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) not PHP-current wp.org #8 9

SVG Support 1M+ · 4.8★ (356) wp.org #10 ↑4 1 too low 10

Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks 1M+ · 4.7★ (1872) heavy footprint wp.org #11 ↓2 1 too low 11

Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1668) wp.org #13 ↑2 2 too low 12

FiboSearch – Ajax Search for WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.9★ (1815) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #14 ↓4 2 too low 13

Ajax Search Lite – Live Search & Filter 70K+ · 4.8★ (266) wp.org #16 ↑1 3 too low 14

Media File Renamer: Rename Images & Files for SEO (AI-Powered) 40K+ · 4.6★ (447) wp.org #18 ↑4 4 too low 15

Complianz – Terms and Conditions 300K+ · 4.9★ (187) wp.org #17 ↓1 2 too low 16

WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (195) wp.org #19 3 too low 17

Yoast Duplicate Post 3M+ · 4.7★ (538) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #12 6 too high 19

Link Whisper Free 30K+ · 4.2★ (150) wp.org #22 ↑1 3 too low 20

Exclude Attachment Link Suggestions 80+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #5 15 too high 21

Sokol: Smart WooCommerce Search 5K+ · 4.4★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #24 3 too low 22

YITH WooCommerce Compare 100K+ · 4.1★ (38) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #21 1 too high 23

AI 60K+ · 4.2★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #20 ↓9 3 too high 24

Advance Product Search- Voice & Ajax Search for WooCommerce 9K+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #23 1 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.