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

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 “unlisted”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 2 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

Unlisted Posts shows at wp.org #2 but places #6 on merit, a gap of 4 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Unlist Posts & Pages 10K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #1 2 Gutenslider — Slider Block for the Block Editor 10K+ · 4.0★ (65) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 Protected Video 1K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #3 4 xSpeed Cache: AI-Powered Performance Hub with MCP, Caching & CDN 10K+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 YourChannel: Everything you want in a YouTube plugin. 9K+ · 4.6★ (80) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too low 6 Unlisted Posts 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #2 4 too high 7 Card-to-Card Gateway for EDD 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too high 8 Iframe Block – Easy Embed Block for YouTube, Vimeo & More 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 9 MCP Server for WordPress – Connect Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini | AtlasMCP 300+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 1 too low 10 ParseLess 60+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 ↓2 1 too low 11 Fast Backups – Site Backup, Restore & Migration 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 ↓2 2 too high 12 BeFound AI — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 ↓1 13 A Axismundi Media Library — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↓1 14 ExtensionLifeCheck — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↓1 1 too low 15 Upvimeo — Direct Uploads for Vimeo — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↓6 1 too low 16 viralmaisuriyaa Delivery Pincode Checker — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↓2 1 too low 17 TableQuill — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓2 1 too low 18 Nivoli Edge: Login Security, WP Audit and Firewall — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too high 19 DSGVO.pro Cookie Banner — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓2 20 War Map Live — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓2 21 Space Lightplay — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓2 22 B Beryl Admin Gate — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓2 23 Lovely Notes — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓2 24 U Upload Field to YouTube for ACF — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓2

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.