wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “twenty”
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 “twenty”, 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
Options for Twenty Nineteen shows at wp.org #4 but places #10 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 700+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 10 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
WP Sticky Sidebar – Floating Sidebar On Scroll for Any Theme places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 153 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Options for Twenty Twenty-One 6K+ · 4.9★ (64)
wp.org #1 2 
Fonts Plugin | Google Fonts, Adobe Fonts & Upload Fonts 200K+ · 5.0★ (1221)
wp.org #5 3 too low 3 
Options for Twenty Twenty 3K+ · 4.7★ (31)
wp.org #2 1 too high 4 
Options for Twenty Seventeen 8K+ · 4.8★ (57)
wp.org #3 1 too high 5 
My Sticky Bar – Floating Notification Bar & Sticky Header (formerly myStickymenu) 100K+ · 4.9★ (1199)
wp.org #8 3 too low 6 
Menu Icons by Themeisle – Add Icons to Navigation Menus 100K+ · 4.9★ (851)
wp.org #9 3 too low 7 
Media Library Assistant 70K+ · 4.8★ (202)
wp.org #7 8 
Disable and Remove Google Fonts | GDPR & DSGVO friendly 100K+ · 4.5★ (46)
wp.org #6 2 too high 9 
Twentig Supercharged Block Editor – Blocks, Patterns, Starter Sites, Portfolio 20K+ · 4.9★ (171)
wp.org #11 2 too low 10 Options for Twenty Nineteen 700+ · 5.0★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #4 6 too high 11 WP Sticky Sidebar – Floating Sidebar On Scroll for Any Theme 10K+ · 4.9★ (153)
wp.org #17 6 too low 12 
Fourteen Colors 8K+ · 4.8★ (48)
wp.org #14 2 too low 13 
Remove "Powered by WordPress" 20K+ · 4.4★ (21) thin reviews
wp.org #10 3 too high 14 
Ajaxify Comments – Ajax and Lazy Loading Comments 3K+ · 4.8★ (91)
wp.org #20 6 too low 15 
Dynamic Month & Year into Posts 8K+ · 5.0★ (18) thin reviews
wp.org #12 3 too high 16 
Mobile Contact Bar 9K+ · 4.6★ (30)
wp.org #13 3 too high 17 
Blank Slate 10K+ · 5.0★ (23) thin reviews
wp.org #15 2 too high 18 
Bold Page Builder 40K+ · 3.6★ (66)
wp.org #16 2 too high 19 
Translate and boost SEO – Automatic AI translation – wpLingua 2K+ · 4.9★ (33)
wp.org #21 2 too low 20 
Conditionally display featured image on singular posts and pages 30K+ · 4.8★ (38)
wp.org #24 4 too low 21 
SMNTCS Custom Logo Link 2K+ · 5.0★ (12) thin reviews
wp.org #19 2 too high 22 
Event Genius – Event Calendar, Event Registration, and Attendee Management 600+ · 4.8★ (17) thin reviews
wp.org #22 23 
Protección de datos – RGPD 7K+ · 4.8★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #18 5 too high 24 
Sticky Header 2020 600+ · 4.3★ (7) 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.