wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “test plugin”
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 “test plugin”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 8 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
Split Test For Elementor shows at wp.org #10 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.4★ average from 24 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 14387 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8708)
wp.org #1 2 
WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470)
wp.org #3 1 too low 3 
Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #2 1 too high 4 
Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397)
wp.org #8 ↑2 4 too low 5 
FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410)
wp.org #7 ↑1 2 too low 6 
Payment Plugins for Stripe WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.8★ (303) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #5 1 too high 7 
Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641)
wp.org #6 1 too high 8 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #16 ↓1 8 too low 9 
GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #9 ↓2 10 
Quiz Maker by AYS 20K+ · 4.9★ (601)
wp.org #17 7 too low 11 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #21 ↑1 10 too low 12 
Yoast Test Helper 50K+ · 4.9★ (12) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #4 8 too high 13 
WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209)
wp.org #24 11 too low 14 
WP Rollback – Rollback Plugins and Themes 200K+ · 4.9★ (215)
wp.org #20 ↓3 6 too low 15 
Payment Plugins for PayPal WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (127) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #12 ↑4 3 too high 16 
Plugin Check (PCP) 10K+ · 4.5★ (36)
wp.org #11 5 too high 17 
WP-Members Membership Plugin 50K+ · 4.6★ (272)
wp.org #23 6 too low 18 
Plugin Load Filter 7K+ · 4.8★ (52)
wp.org #15 ↓1 3 too high 19 Split Test For Elementor 3K+ · 4.4★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #10 ↓1 9 too high 20 
Plugin Groups 1K+ · 4.3★ (31) not PHP-current
wp.org #13 ↓1 7 too high 21 
Plugin Detective – Troubleshooting Conflicts 5K+ · 4.0★ (49) not PHP-current
wp.org #18 3 too high 22 
WP Plugin Manager – Deactivate plugins per page 3K+ · 4.4★ (23) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #14 ↓1 8 too high 23 T Test jQuery Updates 1K+ · 4.4★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too high 24 
SiteGuard WP Plugin 600K+ · 4.3★ (15) throws errorsnot PHP-currenthost-installed base thin reviews
wp.org #19 ↑1 5 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.