wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “turn off”
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 “turn off”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 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
Turn Off REST API shows at wp.org #5 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 19 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 874 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #3 ↑5 2 too low 2 
Turn Off AI Features 400+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #1 1 too high 3 
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 #7 ↓2 4 too low 4 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #6 2 too low 5 
WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617)
wp.org #9 4 too low 6 
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281)
wp.org #13 7 too low 7 
Plugin Organizer 10K+ · 4.7★ (227) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #8 ↑2 1 too low 8 
Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680)
wp.org #20 ↓4 12 too low 9 AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874)
wp.org #22 13 too low 10 
FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410)
wp.org #17 ↓3 7 too low 11 
Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418)
wp.org #23 ↓5 12 too low 12 
Auto Image Attributes From Filename With Bulk Updater (Add Alt Text, Image Title For Image SEO) 100K+ · 4.8★ (93)
wp.org #16 ↓3 4 too low 13 
WPBruiser Security – No CAPTCHA Anti-Spam & Login Protection 10K+ · 4.6★ (213)
wp.org #19 6 too low 14 
3D Viewer – Turn Product Pages into Interactive 3D Experiences 9K+ · 4.7★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #10 ↓3 4 too high 15 
Turn Comments Off 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #2 13 too high 16 
Simple Local Avatars 100K+ · 4.6★ (89)
wp.org #18 ↓7 2 too low 17 
Variation Swatches for WooCommerce 300K+ · 4.8★ (926) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #21 4 too low 18 
FluentAuth – Login Security, Two-Factor Authentication, Passkeys & Social Login 10K+ · 4.1★ (35)
wp.org #11 ↑5 7 too high 19 
hCaptcha for WP 70K+ · 4.6★ (88)
wp.org #24 ↓3 5 too low 20 
MM Comment Manager — Disable Comment Box, Hide Existing Comments and Stop Spam 800+ · 3.4★ (5) thin reviewslow rating, top placement
wp.org #4 ↓1 16 too high 21 
Disable Comments 100K+ · 3.8★ (25)
wp.org #15 6 too high 22 D Disable Plugin Autoupdate Emails 6K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #12 10 too high 23 
Disable AI 100+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #14 9 too high 24 Turn Off REST API 100+ · 0.0★ (0) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviewslow rating, top placement
wp.org #5 ↓1 19 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.