wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “top 100”

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 “top 100”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

Simple Scroll To Top WP shows at wp.org #6 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 9 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 14387 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

WebberZone Top 10 — Popular Posts 10K+ · 4.6★ (102) wp.org #1 2

WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #2 ↑1 3

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too low 4

ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #5 ↑3 1 too low 5

Back To The Top Button 4K+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #3 ↑1 2 too high 6

FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410) wp.org #8 ↑1 2 too low 7

Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) heavy footprint wp.org #7 ↑3 8

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #13 ↑3 5 too low 9

The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #12 ↑2 3 too low 10

WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (758) wp.org #10 ↑2 11

Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #11 ↑4 12

Booster for WooCommerce – PDF Invoices, Abandoned Cart, Variation Swatches & 100+ Tools 30K+ · 4.6★ (535) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #9 ↓2 3 too high 13

MC4WP: Mailchimp for WordPress 1M+ · 4.8★ (1497) wp.org #16 ↑3 3 too low 14

Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) not PHP-current wp.org #18 ↑5 4 too low 15

Unlimited Elements for Elementor 300K+ · 4.8★ (525) wp.org #22 7 too low 16

Simple Scroll To Top WP 1K+ · 5.0★ (9) thin reviews wp.org #6 10 too high 17

Payment Plugins for Stripe WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.8★ (303) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #14 ↑4 3 too high 18

Otter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder for Gutenberg Editor & FSE 300K+ · 4.7★ (251) heavy footprint wp.org #19 ↑1 1 too low 19

Weight Based Shipping for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.6★ (83) wp.org #24 5 too low 20

Active Woot Products Tables for WooCommerce. 100% FREE 1K+ · 4.8★ (18) thin reviews wp.org #15 ↑2 5 too high 21

BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #23 ↓2 2 too low 22

MainWP Child – Securely Connects to the MainWP Dashboard to Manage Multiple Sites 700K+ · 5.0★ (71) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #20 ↑4 2 too high 23

Scroll to Top – Smooth Scroll Up, Back to Top & Reading Progress Bar 60+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #17 ↑5 6 too high 24

Sticky Elementor – Sticky Header, Menu Color After Sticky, Logo Swap & Back to Top Button 600+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #21 3 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.