wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “upload 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 “upload plugins”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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
Custom Upload Dir shows at wp.org #9 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 5K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.4★ average from 25 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 1281 reviews, but shows at wp.org #12. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706)
wp.org #1 2 
Auto Upload Images 20K+ · 4.3★ (106)
wp.org #3 1 too low 3 U Upload Larger Plugins 6K+ · 5.0★ (20) thin reviews
wp.org #2 1 too high 4 
Iptanus File Upload 10K+ · 4.4★ (117)
wp.org #5 ↑6 1 too low 5 
BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) not PHP-current
wp.org #6 1 too low 6 
Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #7 ↓2 1 too low 7 Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281)
wp.org #12 ↑1 5 too low 8 
Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869)
wp.org #13 ↑2 5 too low 9 
Resize Image After Upload 80K+ · 4.8★ (56)
wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too high 10 
Drag and Drop Multiple File Upload for Contact Form 7 60K+ · 4.8★ (94)
wp.org #10 ↓1 11 
File Upload Types by WPForms 40K+ · 4.0★ (20) thin reviews
wp.org #4 7 too high 12 
Fonts Plugin | Google Fonts, Adobe Fonts & Upload Fonts 200K+ · 5.0★ (1221) heavy footprint
wp.org #15 ↓1 3 too low 13 
WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470)
wp.org #20 7 too low 14 
EasyMedia – Increase Media Upload File Size | Role-Based Upload Limit | Increase Execution Time 70K+ · 4.9★ (99)
wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too high 15 
Big File Uploads – Increase Maximum File Upload Size 100K+ · 4.9★ (402)
wp.org #18 ↑1 3 too low 16 
WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228)
wp.org #21 ↑1 5 too low 17 
Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397)
wp.org #22 5 too low 18 C Custom Upload Dir 5K+ · 4.4★ (25)
wp.org #9 ↓1 9 too high 19 
Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641)
wp.org #19 ↑1 20 
Download Plugins and Themes in ZIP from Dashboard 30K+ · 4.9★ (27)
wp.org #17 3 too high 21 
Inline Image Upload for BBPress 3K+ · 4.6★ (65)
wp.org #23 ↑1 2 too low 22 
Checkout Files Upload for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.4★ (14) thin reviews
wp.org #14 ↓2 8 too high 23 
Smart Auto Upload Images – Import External Images 5K+ · 4.3★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #24 ↓1 1 too low 24 
Upload SVG 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #16 8 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.