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← Rankings

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

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 “unlike”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Kirki – Freeform Page Builder, Website Builder & Customizer shows at wp.org #9 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 5 places. Its 400K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.5★ average from 81 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Use Any Font | Custom Font Uploader places #11 on merit, 4.7★ from 1148 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #1 2 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #2 3 Limit Login Attempts Security – Login Security, 2FA, Firewall, Brute Force Prevention 1M+ · 4.8★ (1489) wp.org #3 4 Fonts Plugin | Google Fonts, Adobe Fonts & Upload Fonts 200K+ · 5.0★ (1221) wp.org #4 5 Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184) wp.org #5 ↑2 6 Anti-Malware Security and Brute-Force Firewall 100K+ · 4.9★ (783) wp.org #8 ↓2 2 too low 7 MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157) wp.org #7 ↑2 8 Really Simple CAPTCHA 300K+ · 4.2★ (131) wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too high 9 Brave – Create Popup, Optins, Lead Generation, Survey, Sticky Elements & Interactive Content 20K+ · 4.8★ (209) wp.org #12 ↑3 3 too low 10 WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (199) wp.org #13 3 too low 11 Use Any Font | Custom Font Uploader 200K+ · 4.7★ (1148) wp.org #16 ↓2 5 too low 12 Popup Builder & Popup Maker for WordPress – OptinMonster Email Marketing and Lead Generation 1M+ · 4.3★ (821) wp.org #11 1 too high 13 Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #14 ↓2 1 too low 14 Kirki – Freeform Page Builder, Website Builder & Customizer 400K+ · 4.5★ (81) wp.org #9 ↓1 5 too high 15 Make Column Clickable for Elementor 100K+ · 4.9★ (53) wp.org #10 5 too high 16 HurryTimer – An Scarcity and Urgency Countdown Timer for WordPress & WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.8★ (170) wp.org #15 1 too high 17 Custom Permalinks 100K+ · 4.1★ (116) wp.org #23 ↓4 6 too low 18 Bold Page Builder 40K+ · 3.6★ (66) wp.org #21 3 too low 19 Themify – WooCommerce Product Filter 20K+ · 3.5★ (72) wp.org #22 3 too low 20 Solid Post Likes 500+ · 4.8★ (9) wp.org #17 ↓1 3 too high 21 Kwayy HTML Sitemap 6K+ · 4.7★ (18) wp.org #24 ↓1 3 too low 22 Kadence Starter Templates — Predesigned Website Templates 200K+ · 4.3★ (19) wp.org #18 ↑2 4 too high 23 Goolytics – Simple Google Analytics 3K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #19 ↓1 4 too high 24 Add Any Extension to Pages 2K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #20 ↓3 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.