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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “tool menu”

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 “tool menu”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 3 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

Hostinger Tools shows at wp.org #6 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 3M+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.5★ average from 40 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security places #12 on merit, 4.7★ from 5039 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 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #1 2 Max Mega Menu 300K+ · 4.8★ (882) wp.org #2 ↑2 3 Menu Icons by Themeisle – Add Icons to Navigation Menus 100K+ · 4.9★ (851) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #4 ↓1 5 Nav Menu Roles 70K+ · 4.9★ (219) wp.org #5 6 Responsive Menu – Mobile Menu & Hamburger Menu Builder 70K+ · 4.5★ (574) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 WP Mobile Menu – The Mobile-Friendly Responsive Menu 70K+ · 4.7★ (256) wp.org #8 ↑1 1 too low 8 Advanced Editor Tools 1M+ · 4.5★ (354) wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too low 9 Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012) wp.org #13 ↓2 4 too low 10 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #14 4 too low 11 Float menu – awesome floating side menu 30K+ · 4.4★ (41) wp.org #10 1 too high 12 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #20 ↓1 8 too low 13 QuadMenu – Mega Menu 10K+ · 4.5★ (270) wp.org #24 11 too low 14 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #23 9 too low 15 M Menu Duplicator 10K+ · 4.7★ (13) wp.org #11 ↑1 4 too high 16 Hostinger Tools 3M+ · 3.5★ (40) wp.org #6 10 too high 17 Five Star Restaurant Menu and Food Ordering 5K+ · 4.6★ (107) wp.org #21 ↑1 4 too low 18 Menu In Post 2K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #12 ↑1 6 too high 19 WPB Accordion Menu – Collapsible Vertical Sidebar Responsive Mobile Menu – WooCommerce Category Accordion 10K+ · 4.4★ (54) wp.org #17 ↑3 2 too high 20 Side Menu Lite – Sticky Floating Side Menu 7K+ · 4.0★ (12) wp.org #16 4 too high 21 Restaurant Menu and Food Ordering 2K+ · 4.5★ (15) wp.org #15 6 too high 22 Greek Multi Tool 1K+ · 4.6★ (9) wp.org #18 4 too high 23 Groovy Menu Plugin (Free) 4K+ · 3.6★ (25) wp.org #22 ↑2 1 too high 24 Keyword Research Tool 700+ · 4.9★ (7) wp.org #19 ↓2 5 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.