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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “unused plugins”

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 plugins”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 3 plugins are 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

Unused Media Checker shows at wp.org #11 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 12 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

WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 2617 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #1 2 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too low 3 Freesoul Deactivate Plugins – Disable plugins on individual WordPress pages 8K+ · 4.8★ (104) wp.org #2 ↓1 1 too high 4 Media Cleaner: Delete Unused Images & Clean Your Media Library 90K+ · 4.6★ (779) wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too low 5 BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too high 6 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too high 7 Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #10 ↑1 3 too low 8 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #9 1 too low 9 Plugins Garbage Collector (Database Cleanup) 10K+ · 4.4★ (92) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too high 10 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too low 11 Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517) wp.org #15 ↓1 4 too low 12 D Debloat – Remove Unused CSS, Optimize JS 30K+ · 4.8★ (41) wp.org #8 ↓1 4 too high 13 Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1525) wp.org #21 8 too low 14 W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #20 ↑1 6 too low 15 Media Hygiene: Remove or Delete Unused Images and More! 4K+ · 4.2★ (41) wp.org #13 ↓1 2 too high 16 Easy Optimizer – PageSpeed, Cache & Core Web Vitals (Unused CSS, Delay JS, Lazy Load) 1K+ · 4.6★ (18) wp.org #16 ↓1 17 LWS Cleaner 20K+ · 4.8★ (16) wp.org #19 ↑1 2 too low 18 Coupon Affiliates – Affiliate Plugin for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.9★ (77) wp.org #24 ↓2 6 too low 19 Clean unused shortcodes 300+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #12 ↓2 7 too high 20 WP Plugin Manager – Deactivate plugins per page 3K+ · 4.4★ (23) wp.org #18 2 too high 21 Disable Unused Block Editor Blocks 200+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #23 ↑1 2 too low 22 Media Tracker – Track Unused, Duplicate & Used Media 1K+ · 4.2★ (9) wp.org #22 ↑1 23 Unused Media Checker 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 ↓3 12 too high 24 SEO'n'AI – Image Locator & Find Unused Images 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 7 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.