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

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 “tablepress”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

TableMaster for Elementor – Responsive Data Tables & Comparison Tables shows at wp.org #13 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 400+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

The Plus Addons for Elementor – Mega Menu, Header Footer, Post Grid, AI Widgets & Templates places #11 on merit, 4.6★ from 388 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625) wp.org #1 2

Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418) wp.org #2 3

WP Table Builder – Drag & Drop Table Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (681) wp.org #4 1 too low 4

ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too low 5

Ninja Tables – Easy Data Table Builder 70K+ · 4.6★ (472) wp.org #8 ↓5 3 too low 6

Controls for Contact Form 7 (Redirects, Analytics & Tracking) 10K+ · 5.0★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #3 ↑14 3 too high 7

Popup Builder – Create highly converting, mobile friendly marketing popups. 200K+ · 4.7★ (2215) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #9 2 too low 8

Ivory Search – WordPress Search Plugin 90K+ · 4.9★ (1562) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #12 ↓5 4 too low 9

Table Sorter 5K+ · 4.8★ (29) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too high 10

Royal MCP – Secure AI Connector for Claude, ChatGPT & any LLM via MCP 10K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #5 5 too high 11

The Plus Addons for Elementor – Mega Menu, Header Footer, Post Grid, AI Widgets & Templates 100K+ · 4.6★ (388) wp.org #19 ↓1 8 too low 12

Lazy Load for Videos 9K+ · 4.4★ (105) not PHP-current wp.org #11 ↓1 1 too high 13

Wicked Folders – Folder Organizer for Pages, Posts, and Custom Post Types 20K+ · 4.9★ (56) wp.org #15 ↓2 2 too low 14

DietPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (38) wp.org #14 ↓3 15

WP Multilang – Translation and Multilingual Plugin 10K+ · 4.3★ (100) wp.org #18 ↓2 3 too low 16

HappyAddons for Elementor – 160 Elementor Widgets, GSAP Animations & Templates 400K+ · 4.8★ (489) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #17 ↓3 1 too low 17

Broadcast 1K+ · 4.9★ (214) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #21 4 too low 18

Simple Client Dashboard 2K+ · 4.5★ (26) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #10 ↓2 8 too high 19

Print My Blog – Print, PDF, & eBook Converter WordPress Plugin 8K+ · 4.8★ (115) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too low 20

Zoho Flow – No-Code Workflow Automation 5K+ · 5.0★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too high 21

Interactive US Map – Create Clickable & Customizable U.S. Maps 300+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #22 ↓2 1 too low 22

TableMaster for Elementor – Responsive Data Tables & Comparison Tables 400+ · 5.0★ (4) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #13 ↓1 9 too high 23

NIBWP – Self-Hosted MCP Server – Connect Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor & Any AI Agent via MCP 300+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #24 1 too low 24

Rowlane Table Extras for TablePress — · 0.0★ (0) 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.