wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “tested”
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 “tested”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 5 of the top 20. 2 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
PayU India shows at wp.org #17 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 7K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470)
wp.org #2 1 too low 2 
WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #1 1 too high 3 
Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1668)
wp.org #3 ↑1 4 
The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461)
wp.org #4 ↓1 5 
All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676)
wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too low 6 
Max Mega Menu 300K+ · 4.8★ (882)
wp.org #7 ↑2 1 too low 7 
Germanized for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.8★ (496)
wp.org #8 1 too low 8 
Redis Object Cache 500K+ · 4.5★ (179)
wp.org #5 3 too high 9 
W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420)
wp.org #11 ↑5 2 too low 10 
My Calendar – Accessible Event Manager 20K+ · 4.7★ (159)
wp.org #9 ↓3 1 too high 11 
WP Rollback – Rollback Plugins and Themes 200K+ · 4.9★ (215)
wp.org #12 ↓2 1 too low 12 
Fonts Plugin | Google Fonts, Adobe Fonts & Upload Fonts 200K+ · 5.0★ (1221) heavy footprint
wp.org #14 2 too low 13 
Variation Swatches for WooCommerce 300K+ · 4.8★ (926) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #10 3 too high 14 
WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1915)
wp.org #16 ↓3 2 too low 15 
Media Cleaner: Delete Unused Images & Clean Your Media Library 90K+ · 4.6★ (779)
wp.org #18 ↓1 3 too low 16 
Gallery Custom Links 30K+ · 4.7★ (208)
wp.org #15 ↓3 1 too high 17 
Smart Slider 3 800K+ · 4.9★ (1125)
wp.org #19 ↑2 2 too low 18 
Nelio A/B Testing – AB Tests and Heatmaps for Better Conversion Optimization 4K+ · 4.8★ (99)
wp.org #13 ↓2 5 too high 19 
Popups for Divi 100K+ · 4.8★ (442)
wp.org #24 5 too low 20 
Htaccess File Editor – Safely Edit Htaccess File 40K+ · 5.0★ (102)
wp.org #21 ↓3 1 too low 21 
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) not PHP-current
wp.org #23 2 too low 22 
Search Regex 100K+ · 4.7★ (101)
wp.org #20 2 too high 23 
Flash Toolkit 10K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #22 ↓3 1 too high 24 PayU India 7K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #17 ↓2 7 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.