wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “text overlay”
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 “text overlay”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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
WPZOOM Addons for Elementor – Starter Templates & Widgets shows at wp.org #8 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 20K+ 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.
Buried gem
Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense places #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 1463 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Overlay Image Divi Module 2K+ · 5.0★ (17) thin reviews
wp.org #1 ↑7 2 
Flipbox – Awesomes Flip Boxes Image Overlay 9K+ · 4.7★ (149)
wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too low 3 
Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333)
wp.org #5 2 too low 4 
Content Views – Post Grid & Filter (Shortcode, Blocks, Elementor Widgets) 100K+ · 4.8★ (333)
wp.org #7 ↓3 3 too low 5 
Image Watermark 40K+ · 4.2★ (298)
wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too low 6 
Unlimited Elements for Elementor 300K+ · 4.8★ (525)
wp.org #10 ↑8 4 too low 7 
Text Unfold For Elementor 3K+ · 4.6★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #2 ↓1 5 too high 8 Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1463)
wp.org #16 8 too low 9 
Smart Slider 3 800K+ · 4.9★ (1125)
wp.org #13 ↑2 4 too low 10 
Accessibility Tools & Alt Text Finder 3K+ · 4.9★ (69)
wp.org #9 1 too high 11 
Auto Alt Text 4K+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #4 ↓1 7 too high 12 
OoohBoi Steroids for Elementor 40K+ · 4.8★ (118)
wp.org #14 ↓1 2 too low 13 
ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051)
wp.org #19 ↓5 6 too low 14 
MKL Product Configurator for WooCommerce – 2D & 3D Live Preview 2K+ · 4.8★ (42)
wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too high 15 
Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616)
wp.org #23 8 too low 16 
MapPress – Google Maps, OpenStreetMap & Leaflet 30K+ · 4.7★ (147)
wp.org #18 ↓1 2 too low 17 W WP Photo Album Plus 10K+ · 4.7★ (199)
wp.org #20 ↑2 3 too low 18 
Copy Anything to Clipboard for WordPress – Copy Button, Copy Text & Copy Code 10K+ · 4.5★ (36)
wp.org #17 ↑4 1 too high 19 
Waymark 900+ · 5.0★ (54)
wp.org #24 ↓8 5 too low 20 WPZOOM Addons for Elementor – Starter Templates & Widgets 20K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #8 ↓2 12 too high 21 
Filikod – Alt Text Checker & Bulk Image Alt Text Editor 200+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #21 22 
Gridly Design Overlay 10+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #12 10 too high 23 
FooConvert – AI Popup Builder for Flyouts, Overlays & Bars 100+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #22 ↓2 1 too high 24 
RobArt Text Collector 40+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #15 ↓4 9 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.