wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “top level”
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 level”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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
X-Scroll To Top – Responsive shows at wp.org #8 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.1★ average from 8 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection places #9 on merit, 4.6★ from 3992 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint
wp.org #2 1 too low 2 
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821)
wp.org #3 1 too low 3 
FV Top Level Categories 20K+ · 4.4★ (23) thin reviews
wp.org #1 2 too high 4 
Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) heavy footprint
wp.org #4 5 
Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186)
wp.org #5 ↑1 6 
ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051)
wp.org #9 ↓1 3 too low 7 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #7 8 
The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461)
wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too low 9 Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992)
wp.org #19 ↓2 10 too low 10 
Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #12 ↓3 2 too low 11 
WP Custom Admin Interface 30K+ · 4.7★ (160) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #10 ↑1 1 too high 12 
Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276)
wp.org #14 2 too low 13 
Popup builder with Gamification, Multi-Step Popups, Page-Level Targeting, and WooCommerce Triggers 70K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #6 ↓1 7 too high 14 
Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641)
wp.org #17 ↓1 3 too low 15 
Table of Contents Plus – Automatic Table of Contents for Posts & Pages 200K+ · 4.5★ (187)
wp.org #20 ↑1 5 too low 16 
Payment Plugins for Stripe WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.8★ (303) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #18 2 too low 17 
Ultimate Dashboard – Custom WordPress Dashboard 50K+ · 4.6★ (114)
wp.org #23 ↓1 6 too low 18 
Unbloater 5K+ · 5.0★ (17) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↓1 2 too high 19 
Gravity Forms Email Blacklist 10K+ · 4.3★ (15) thin reviews
wp.org #13 6 too high 20 X-Scroll To Top – Responsive 200+ · 4.1★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #8 12 too high 21 
Broken Link Checker 500K+ · 3.8★ (605) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #21 ↓2 22 
HTML Page Sitemap (Block and Shortcode) 10K+ · 4.4★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #24 ↓1 2 too low 23 
Auto Submenu 2K+ · 4.0★ (25)
wp.org #22 ↓2 1 too high 24 
Multicolumn Category Widget 300+ · 4.2★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #15 ↓1 9 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.