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← Rankings

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

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 “toc”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Mocursor Smart TOC shows at wp.org #7 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 100+ 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.

Buried gem

Gutenberg Essential Blocks – Page Builder for Gutenberg Blocks & Patterns places #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 216 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Easy Table of Contents 600K+ · 4.4★ (221) wp.org #1 2 Table of Contents Plus – Automatic Table of Contents for Posts & Pages 200K+ · 4.5★ (187) wp.org #2 3 SimpleTOC – Table of Contents Block 10K+ · 4.9★ (77) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too low 4 BetterDocs – AI Documentation, Knowledge Base, MCP Server, Docs, Wikis, FAQ & Chatbot 30K+ · 4.8★ (515) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 Joli Table Of Contents – Table of Contents with Gutenberg Block & Shortcode 7K+ · 4.9★ (43) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #11 ↑4 5 too low 7 Glossary 2K+ · 4.7★ (84) wp.org #14 ↓2 7 too low 8 Gutenberg Essential Blocks – Page Builder for Gutenberg Blocks & Patterns 100K+ · 4.9★ (216) wp.org #20 12 too low 9 Heroic Table of Contents 5K+ · 4.7★ (10) wp.org #8 1 too high 10 Yada Wiki 2K+ · 4.9★ (23) wp.org #12 ↓1 2 too low 11 LuckyWP Table of Contents 90K+ · 4.9★ (884) wp.org #23 ↓2 12 too low 12 All-in-One Sticky Anything – Click to Call, Fixed Widget, Sticky Header, Menu & Sidebar 1K+ · 4.9★ (15) wp.org #13 1 too low 13 Table Of Contents Block 10K+ · 4.3★ (7) wp.org #6 7 too high 14 weDocs: AI Powered Knowledge Base, Docs, Documentation, Wiki & AI Chatbot 5K+ · 4.6★ (69) wp.org #24 ↓1 10 too low 15 Knowledge Base documentation & wiki plugin – BasePress Docs 2K+ · 4.8★ (75) wp.org #22 7 too low 16 Table Of Content Block – Auto-Generate Clickable Table of Contents 3K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #9 ↑1 7 too high 17 GutenTOC – Advanced Table of Contents 600+ · 4.7★ (12) wp.org #21 ↓1 4 too low 18 Muki Floating TOC 10+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #10 ↓1 8 too high 19 PixelCraft with WebP 500+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #17 ↓1 2 too high 20 CM Table Of Contents – Clear navigation for better content discovery 100+ · 3.3★ (9) wp.org #15 ↓1 5 too high 21 Mocursor Smart TOC 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 14 too high 22 T TOC Accordion for Rank Math 60+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 ↓3 6 too high 23 Knowledge Base 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 4 too high 24 Table of Contents (TOC) Block – Fast & SEO Friendly 10+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↓1 6 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.