wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “top pick”
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 pick”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 4 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
Top-Down Scroll – Customizable Scroll to Top Button shows at wp.org #6 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 18 places. Its 60+ 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
PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links places #5 on merit, 4.8★ from 1322 reviews, but shows at wp.org #9. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186)
wp.org #3 ↑5 2 too low 2 
Sticky Menu & Sticky Header 90K+ · 4.7★ (763)
wp.org #5 ↓2 3 too low 3 
FV Top Level Categories 20K+ · 4.4★ (23) thin reviews
wp.org #2 1 too high 4 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #4 ↑1 5 PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322)
wp.org #9 ↓3 4 too low 6 
UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706)
wp.org #10 4 too low 7 
Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #7 ↓3 8 
MakeITeasy Back To Top 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #1 7 too high 9 
ManageWP Worker 1M+ · 4.6★ (679)
wp.org #11 2 too low 10 
WP ULike – Like Buttons, Voting & Engagement Analytics 60K+ · 4.8★ (283)
wp.org #14 ↑1 4 too low 11 
Smart Slider 3 800K+ · 4.9★ (1125)
wp.org #15 ↓1 4 too low 12 
FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410)
wp.org #13 ↓1 1 too low 13 
Starter Templates: AI-Powered Website Templates for Elementor & Gutenberg 1M+ · 4.9★ (4755)
wp.org #18 ↓1 5 too low 14 
Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1463) not PHP-current
wp.org #17 3 too low 15 
Cart Abandonment Recovery for WooCommerce – Recover Lost Sales with Automated Emails 300K+ · 4.8★ (625) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #12 ↑1 3 too high 16 
BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #8 ↑1 8 too high 17 
Table of Contents Plus – Automatic Table of Contents for Posts & Pages 200K+ · 4.5★ (187)
wp.org #16 ↑3 1 too high 18 
WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312)
wp.org #23 5 too low 19 
Spotlight Social Photo Feed 60K+ · 4.7★ (171)
wp.org #20 ↓4 1 too low 20 
Call Now Button – The Free Click to Call Button for WordPress 200K+ · 4.8★ (102)
wp.org #22 ↓1 2 too low 21 
SlimStat Analytics – Real-Time Stats, Heatmaps & Ecommerce 70K+ · 4.8★ (816) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #24 3 too low 22 
Packlink PRO for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.4★ (263) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #19 ↑1 3 too high 23 
Broken Link Checker 500K+ · 3.8★ (605) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #21 ↑1 2 too high 24 Top-Down Scroll – Customizable Scroll to Top Button 60+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #6 ↑1 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.