wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “together”
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 “together”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 of the top 20. 7 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
Frequently Bought Together Product For WooCommerce shows at wp.org #6 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 18 places. Its 70+ 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
User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor places #7 on merit, 4.7★ from 738 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.
BuddyPress 90K+ · 4.1★ (375)
wp.org #2 1 too low 2 
WPC Frequently Bought Together for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.5★ (84) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #1 1 too high 3 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143)
wp.org #4 1 too low 4 
TranslatePress – Translate Multilingual sites with AI Translation 400K+ · 4.7★ (1667)
wp.org #8 ↓1 4 too low 5 
WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617)
wp.org #9 4 too low 6 
Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery 300K+ · 4.3★ (4342) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #12 ↑1 6 too low 7 User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738)
wp.org #16 ↑1 9 too low 8 
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281)
wp.org #17 ↓6 9 too low 9 
Advanced Editor Tools 1M+ · 4.5★ (354)
wp.org #14 ↑1 5 too low 10 
Spam Protection | Maspik 30K+ · 4.7★ (87)
wp.org #15 ↑1 5 too low 11 
Co-Authors, Multiple Authors and Guest Authors in an Author Box with PublishPress Authors 20K+ · 4.9★ (114) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #11 ↑1 12 
Product Labels, Quick View, Buy Now, Pre-Orders, Frequently Bought Together & More for WooCommerce – Merchant 9K+ · 4.2★ (11) thin reviews
wp.org #5 7 too high 13 
WP Webhooks – Automate repetitive tasks by creating powerful automation workflows directly within WordPress 20K+ · 4.7★ (55)
wp.org #13 ↑1 14 
W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420)
wp.org #23 9 too low 15 
Schedule Post Changes With PublishPress Future: Unpublish, Delete, Change Status, Trash, Change Categories 100K+ · 4.5★ (172)
wp.org #20 ↓2 5 too low 16 
Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) heavy footprint
wp.org #19 3 too low 17 
WooPayments: Integrated WooCommerce Payments 800K+ · 3.4★ (177) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #7 ↑1 10 too high 18 
SimpLy Gallery 40K+ · 4.8★ (118)
wp.org #24 6 too low 19 
BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) not PHP-current
wp.org #21 ↑1 2 too low 20 
YITH Frequently Bought Together for WooCommerce 7K+ · 3.1★ (12) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviewslow rating, top placement
wp.org #3 17 too high 21 
WPC Product Bundles for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.4★ (220) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #18 ↑1 3 too high 22 
Leo Product Recommendations: Upsell Popup, Frequently Bought Together & Cart Drawer for WooCommerce 400+ · 5.0★ (12) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #10 12 too high 23 
WPC Linked Variation for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.7★ (15) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too high 24 Frequently Bought Together Product For WooCommerce 70+ · 5.0★ (1) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #6 18 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.