wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “try now”
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 “try now”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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
Media Library Categories shows at wp.org #11 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 20K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.2★ average from 52 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 8709 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.
Quick Buy Now Button for WooCommerce 50K+ · 5.0★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #1 2 
CrawlWP SEO – Complete WordPress SEO Plugin with AI, Indexing & Search Performance 30K+ · 4.7★ (62)
wp.org #2 3 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #5 2 too low 4 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322)
wp.org #6 2 too low 5 
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281)
wp.org #7 ↑17 2 too low 6 
TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625)
wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too low 7 
WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209)
wp.org #9 ↓1 2 too low 8 
Mobile Call Now & Map Buttons 4K+ · 4.9★ (18) thin reviews
wp.org #3 5 too high 9 
Backup Migration 80K+ · 4.9★ (1338)
wp.org #12 ↓1 3 too low 10 
WooPayments: Integrated WooCommerce Payments 800K+ · 3.4★ (177) low rating, top placement
wp.org #4 6 too high 11 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8709)
wp.org #15 ↑1 4 too low 12 
Converter for Media – Optimize images | Convert WebP & AVIF 500K+ · 4.9★ (1107)
wp.org #14 ↓1 2 too low 13 
Dynamic Visibility for Elementor 50K+ · 4.6★ (89)
wp.org #10 3 too high 14 
SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO 300K+ · 4.8★ (1268)
wp.org #19 ↓1 5 too low 15 
Weight Based Shipping Table Rate for WooCommerce – Flexible Shipping 100K+ · 4.9★ (706)
wp.org #20 ↓5 5 too low 16 
Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186)
wp.org #16 ↑5 17 
MultiVendorX – WooCommerce Multivendor Marketplace AI Powered Solutions 2K+ · 4.8★ (432)
wp.org #18 ↑4 1 too low 18 
All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231)
wp.org #21 ↓2 3 too low 19 
Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4358)
wp.org #24 ↓10 5 too low 20 Media Library Categories 20K+ · 4.2★ (52)
wp.org #11 ↓2 9 too high 21 
Maintenance 1M+ · 4.4★ (869)
wp.org #17 4 too high 22 
Payment forms, Buy now buttons, and Invoicing System | GetPaid 5K+ · 4.5★ (46)
wp.org #13 ↓1 9 too high 23 
WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346)
wp.org #22 1 too high 24 
Xpro Theme Builder For Elementor – FREE 20K+ · 5.0★ (14) thin reviews
wp.org #23 1 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.