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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “transients”

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 “transients”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

Transients shows at wp.org #6 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 20+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 4228 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Advanced Database Cleaner – Optimize & Clean Database to Speed Up Site Performance 100K+ · 4.9★ (1962) wp.org #4 3 too low 2 Delete Expired Transients 4K+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Database Cleaner: Cleanup, Optimization & Repair 10K+ · 5.0★ (150) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Transient Cleaner 1K+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 WP Reset 300K+ · 4.8★ (1014) wp.org #8 ↓1 3 too low 6 Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517) wp.org #10 4 too low 7 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #15 ↓1 8 too low 8 Transients Manager 20K+ · 5.0★ (38) wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too high 9 WP-Sweep 100K+ · 4.7★ (138) wp.org #12 ↓1 3 too low 10 F Flush Transients 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 8 too high 11 LWS Cleaner 20K+ · 4.8★ (16) wp.org #21 ↓2 10 too low 12 GazChap's WooCommerce Auto Category Product Thumbnails 1K+ · 4.4★ (14) wp.org #14 ↓1 2 too low 13 Disable WP Notification 10K+ · 4.3★ (12) wp.org #16 3 too low 14 LWS Optimize – All-in-One Speed Booster & Cache Tools 20K+ · 4.6★ (9) wp.org #19 ↓1 5 too low 15 Transients 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 ↑2 9 too high 16 NHR Database Cleaner & Optimizer – Revisions, Transients, Autoload & Options Manager 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #9 7 too high 17 My WP Customize Admin/Frontend 8K+ · 4.3★ (16) wp.org #23 6 too low 18 Content Mask 1K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #17 1 too high 19 W Widget Output Cache 200+ · 4.9★ (7) wp.org #22 3 too low 20 WP Healthcheck 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #11 ↓2 9 too high 21 Wp Post Views – WordPress Post views counter 4K+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 Fand Transient and Action Cleaner 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 ↑2 9 too high 23 Purgify – Clear Cache, Transients & Database 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 5 too high 24 Clear Cache Everywhere 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 4 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.