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

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 ups”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 2 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

Click to top shows at wp.org #10 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Advanced Database Cleaner – Optimize & Clean Database to Speed Up Site Performance places #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 1962 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 To Top 60K+ · 4.8★ (54) wp.org #1 2 WPFront Scroll Top 200K+ · 4.9★ (142) wp.org #2 3 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too low 4 WebberZone Top 10 — Popular Posts 10K+ · 4.6★ (102) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #5 ↓1 6 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 Wallet for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.7★ (188) wp.org #7 8 Advanced Database Cleaner – Optimize & Clean Database to Speed Up Site Performance 100K+ · 4.9★ (1962) wp.org #23 ↓9 15 too low 9 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #13 ↑5 4 too low 10 MC4WP: Mailchimp Top Bar – Email Subscribe Notification Bar 6K+ · 4.6★ (31) wp.org #6 4 too high 11 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #24 13 too low 12 Simple Banner – Easily add multiple Banners/Bars/Notifications/Announcements to the top or bottom of your website 50K+ · 4.8★ (45) wp.org #15 ↑1 3 too low 13 Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #22 9 too low 14 Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) wp.org #21 ↓1 7 too low 15 FV Top Level Categories 20K+ · 4.4★ (23) wp.org #17 ↑2 2 too low 16 Smooth Page Scroll Up/Down Buttons 2K+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #20 ↑1 4 too low 17 Sign-up Sheets 1K+ · 4.8★ (16) wp.org #16 ↑1 1 too high 18 Beam me up Scotty – Back to Top Button 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #11 7 too high 19 MakeITeasy Back To Top 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 11 too high 20 MM Back To Top — Scroll Up Button 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #12 8 too high 21 X-Scroll To Top – Responsive 200+ · 4.1★ (8) wp.org #19 2 too high 22 Scroll Top | HR Scroll Top 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #14 ↑1 8 too high 23 Scroll to Top – Smooth Scroll Up, Back to Top & Reading Progress Bar 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↑4 5 too high 24 Click to top 2K+ · 2.0★ (2) wp.org #10 14 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.