wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “top shared”
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 shared”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20.
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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.
Ranked above its merit
Sticky Header Effects for Elementor shows at wp.org #13 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 300K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.5★ average from 69 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
WebberZone Top 10 — Popular Posts 10K+ · 4.6★ (102)
wp.org #1 2 
Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940)
wp.org #5 3 too low 3 
Shared Files – File Upload & Download Manager 4K+ · 4.4★ (34)
wp.org #2 1 too high 4 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #4 5 
Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186)
wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too low 6 
Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4358)
wp.org #8 ↓2 2 too low 7 
PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322)
wp.org #9 2 too low 8 
Shared Albums for Google Photos 500+ · 4.9★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #3 5 too high 9 
W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420)
wp.org #11 ↓1 2 too low 10 
BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55)
wp.org #7 ↑1 3 too high 11 
MultiVendorX – WooCommerce Multivendor Marketplace AI Powered Solutions 2K+ · 4.8★ (432)
wp.org #12 ↑2 1 too low 12 
The SEO Framework – Fast, Automated, Effortless. 200K+ · 4.9★ (380)
wp.org #15 ↑2 3 too low 13 
Docket Cache – Object Cache Accelerator 20K+ · 4.9★ (50)
wp.org #10 ↑1 3 too high 14 
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132)
wp.org #18 4 too low 15 
Koko Analytics – Privacy-Friendly WordPress Analytics 70K+ · 5.0★ (245)
wp.org #17 ↓1 2 too low 16 
WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (199)
wp.org #16 ↓1 17 
Social Preview and Open Graph Tags 50K+ · 4.6★ (122)
wp.org #14 ↓1 3 too high 18 
Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588)
wp.org #19 1 too low 19 Sticky Header Effects for Elementor 300K+ · 4.5★ (69)
wp.org #13 ↓1 6 too high 20 
Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots 10K+ · 4.8★ (142)
wp.org #22 2 too low 21 
Robo Gallery – Photo & Image Slider 40K+ · 4.3★ (406)
wp.org #23 ↑1 2 too low 22 
SMTP2GO for WordPress – Email Made Easy 40K+ · 5.0★ (67)
wp.org #20 ↓2 2 too high 23 
Document Embedder – let visitors read files without downloading 9K+ · 4.9★ (120)
wp.org #21 2 too high 24 
Image and video gallery from Google Drive 4K+ · 4.3★ (39)
wp.org #24 ↓2 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.