wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “supports”
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 “supports”, we agree with wp.org 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
Easy SVG Support shows at wp.org #7 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 40K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI places #6 on merit, 4.8★ from 27820 reviews, but shows at wp.org #10. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
SVG Support 1M+ · 4.8★ (356)
wp.org #1 2 
LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778)
wp.org #2 ↑3 3 
Chatway Live Chat – AI Chatbot, Customer Support, FAQ & Helpdesk Customer Service & Chat Buttons 30K+ · 5.0★ (775)
wp.org #3 4 
Product Feed Manager for WooCommerce – CTX Feed – Support 220+ Shopping, AI & Social Channels 90K+ · 4.6★ (838)
wp.org #5 ↓3 1 too low 5 
Fluent Support – Helpdesk & Customer Support Ticket System 10K+ · 4.6★ (69)
wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27820)
wp.org #10 ↓2 4 too low 7 
Contact Form 7 10M+ · 4.0★ (2186)
wp.org #6 1 too high 8 
Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667)
wp.org #8 ↑7 9 
Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7520)
wp.org #13 ↓3 4 too low 10 
W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420)
wp.org #12 ↓1 2 too low 11 S SSH SFTP Updater Support 10K+ · 4.8★ (99)
wp.org #9 ↓2 2 too high 12 
SupportCandy – AI Customer Support Ticket System & Live Chatbot Agent 10K+ · 4.9★ (289)
wp.org #14 ↑5 2 too low 13 
Backup Migration 80K+ · 4.9★ (1338)
wp.org #18 ↓1 5 too low 14 
Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667)
wp.org #16 ↓4 2 too low 15 
Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616)
wp.org #17 ↓3 2 too low 16 
The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461)
wp.org #20 ↓2 4 too low 17 
Awesome Support – WordPress HelpDesk & Support Plugin 6K+ · 3.5★ (194)
wp.org #11 ↓2 6 too high 18 
Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4358)
wp.org #24 ↓8 6 too low 19 
Parsi Date | بسته فارسی ساز وردپرس و ووکامرس پارسی دیت 100K+ · 4.6★ (130)
wp.org #19 20 Easy SVG Support 40K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #7 13 too high 21 
Majestic Support – The Leading-Edge Help Desk & Customer Support Plugin 3K+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↓1 22 
Support Genix – Helpdesk, AI Chatbot, Knowledge Base & Customer Support Ticketing System 3K+ · 4.5★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #23 ↓1 1 too low 23 
HEIC Support 4K+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #15 ↓2 8 too high 24 
Weaver Xtreme Theme Support 8K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #22 ↓1 2 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.