wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “unused”
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 “unused”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 16 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 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
Unused Media Checker shows at wp.org #3 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
OMGF | GDPR/DSGVO Compliant, Faster Google Fonts. Easy. places #11 on merit, 4.7★ from 213 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Media Cleaner: Delete Unused Images & Clean Your Media Library 90K+ · 4.6★ (779)
wp.org #1 2 D Debloat – Remove Unused CSS, Optimize JS 30K+ · 4.8★ (41)
wp.org #2 ↑2 3 
WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617)
wp.org #6 ↓1 3 too low 4 
Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517)
wp.org #7 ↑2 3 too low 5 
Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1525)
wp.org #11 ↑5 6 too low 6 
W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420)
wp.org #9 ↑14 3 too low 7 
Advanced Database Cleaner – Optimize & Clean Database to Speed Up Site Performance 100K+ · 4.9★ (1962)
wp.org #13 ↓5 6 too low 8 
Media Hygiene: Remove or Delete Unused Images and More! 4K+ · 4.2★ (41)
wp.org #4 ↓1 4 too high 9 
WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228)
wp.org #15 ↑3 6 too low 10 
Easy Optimizer – PageSpeed, Cache & Core Web Vitals (Unused CSS, Delay JS, Lazy Load) 1K+ · 4.6★ (18) thin reviews
wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too high 11 OMGF | GDPR/DSGVO Compliant, Faster Google Fonts. Easy. 300K+ · 4.7★ (213)
wp.org #20 9 too low 12 
WP-Sweep 100K+ · 4.7★ (138)
wp.org #21 9 too low 13 
Clean unused shortcodes 300+ · 4.4★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #5 ↑1 8 too high 14 
ECS – Ele Custom Skin for Elementor 100K+ · 4.6★ (117)
wp.org #22 8 too low 15 
Shortcodes Finder 4K+ · 4.9★ (53)
wp.org #19 ↓2 4 too low 16 
Image Source Control Lite – Show Image Credits and Captions 3K+ · 4.6★ (42)
wp.org #24 8 too low 17 
LWS Cleaner 20K+ · 4.8★ (16) thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↓3 1 too low 18 
Media Tracker – Track Unused, Duplicate & Used Media 1K+ · 4.2★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #10 8 too high 19 
Reduce Unused CSS Solution with Critical CSS For WP 1K+ · 3.8★ (13) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↓4 3 too high 20 Unused Media Checker 300+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #3 ↓1 17 too high 21 
Disable Unused Block Editor Blocks 200+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #17 ↓4 4 too high 22 
DevDome Media Cleaner: Remove Unused Images & Media Library Cleanup 400+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #14 8 too high 23 
Berq Used CSS – Remove Unused CSS Automatically 70+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #23 24 
SEO'n'AI – Image Locator & Find Unused Images 100+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #12 ↓1 12 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.