wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “total posts”
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 “total posts”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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
JetHost Total Care – Security & Enhancements shows at wp.org #7 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420)
wp.org #1 2 
Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296)
wp.org #2 3 
Contextual Related Posts 50K+ · 4.8★ (201)
wp.org #3 4 
Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1236)
wp.org #6 ↑3 2 too low 5 
Delete Duplicate Posts 10K+ · 4.8★ (153)
wp.org #5 6 
Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1525)
wp.org #9 ↓1 3 too low 7 
Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) not PHP-current
wp.org #4 3 too high 8 
Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528)
wp.org #8 ↓2 9 
The Post Grid – Shortcode, Gutenberg Blocks and Elementor Addon for Post Grid 100K+ · 4.8★ (265)
wp.org #10 1 too low 10 
WebberZone Top 10 — Popular Posts 10K+ · 4.6★ (102)
wp.org #11 ↑1 1 too low 11 
Category AJAX Filter – Posts, Custom Post Types & Product Filter 6K+ · 4.9★ (158)
wp.org #14 3 too low 12 
Total Upkeep – WordPress Backup Plugin plus Restore & Migrate by BoldGrid 40K+ · 4.8★ (442) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #12 ↓1 13 
WP RSS Aggregator – RSS Import, Feed to Post, Autoblogging, AI Content 40K+ · 4.5★ (565)
wp.org #22 9 too low 14 
Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423)
wp.org #23 ↑1 9 too low 15 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #17 ↑6 2 too low 16 
bbPress 100K+ · 3.9★ (343)
wp.org #18 ↓1 2 too low 17 
CCI Posts Carousel All In One 2K+ · 4.6★ (27)
wp.org #13 4 too high 18 
Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012)
wp.org #24 6 too low 19 
WP Fast Total Search – The Power of Indexed Search 1K+ · 4.4★ (28)
wp.org #21 2 too low 20 JetHost Total Care – Security & Enhancements 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #7 13 too high 21 
Post Types Unlimited 10K+ · 5.0★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #20 1 too high 22 
Most And Least Read Posts Widget 900+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↑2 6 too high 23 
Wp Post Views – WordPress Post views counter 4K+ · 4.4★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #19 4 too high 24 T Term Based Dynamic Post Templates for Total 100+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #15 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.