wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “time manager”
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 “time manager”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 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
FAZ Cookie Manager shows at wp.org #9 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 30 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 2433 reviews, but shows at wp.org #11. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821)
wp.org #1 2 
Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551)
wp.org #2 3 
Download Manager 100K+ · 4.1★ (1006)
wp.org #4 1 too low 4 
Advanced File Manager – Ultimate File Manager for WordPress And Document Library Solution 100K+ · 4.8★ (441)
wp.org #5 1 too low 5 
GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155)
wp.org #3 2 too high 6 
Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1463)
wp.org #7 ↑4 1 too low 7 Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433)
wp.org #11 ↑10 4 too low 8 
WP Event Manager – Events Calendar, Registrations, Sell Tickets with WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.0★ (249)
wp.org #6 2 too high 9 
Checkout Field Manager (Checkout Manager) for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.5★ (784)
wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too low 10 
Permalink Manager Lite 100K+ · 4.8★ (176)
wp.org #8 2 too high 11 
Easy Updates Manager 300K+ · 4.8★ (726)
wp.org #12 1 too low 12 
Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519)
wp.org #16 ↓3 4 too low 13 
File Manager 10K+ · 4.3★ (202)
wp.org #13 ↑10 14 
WP User Manager – Registration Form, Login Form, User Profile Builder & Member Directory 10K+ · 4.7★ (350)
wp.org #17 ↓2 3 too low 15 
My Calendar – Accessible Event Manager 20K+ · 4.7★ (159)
wp.org #14 ↓4 1 too high 16 FAZ Cookie Manager 3K+ · 5.0★ (30)
wp.org #9 ↓2 7 too high 17 
Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667)
wp.org #23 6 too low 18 
Meta Tag Manager 70K+ · 4.8★ (84)
wp.org #18 ↓2 19 
FluentSnippets – High-Performance Code Snippets, Header & Footer Code, Custom CSS & PHP Code Manager 50K+ · 4.7★ (78)
wp.org #19 ↑5 20 
Tracking Code Manager 90K+ · 4.1★ (58)
wp.org #15 ↓1 5 too high 21 
User Access Manager 10K+ · 4.4★ (112)
wp.org #21 ↓1 22 
PixelYourSite – Your smart PIXEL (TAG) & API Manager 400K+ · 4.3★ (281)
wp.org #24 2 too low 23 
Affiliates Manager 8K+ · 4.1★ (61)
wp.org #20 ↓2 3 too high 24 
Premmerce Permalink Manager for WooCommerce 40K+ · 3.9★ (53)
wp.org #22 ↓5 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.