wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “user approval”

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 “user approval”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

User Approval Manager shows at wp.org #1 but places #11 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 27821 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 signals wp.org

User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738) wp.org #3 2 too low 2

New User Approve 20K+ · 4.3★ (131) wp.org #2 ↑2 3

User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (832) wp.org #4 ↓2 1 too low 4

Open User Map – Interactive Leaflet Maps 10K+ · 5.0★ (70) wp.org #6 2 too low 5

Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #9 ↓1 4 too low 6

ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities 5K+ · 4.6★ (236) wp.org #7 1 too low 7

Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012) wp.org #8 ↑1 1 too low 8

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #16 ↑2 8 too low 9

WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (199) wp.org #11 2 too low 10

Order Approval for Woocommerce 1K+ · 4.8★ (23) thin reviews wp.org #5 5 too high 11

User Approval Manager 200+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #1 10 too high 12

RegistrationMagic – Custom Registration Forms, User Registration, Payment, and User Login 7K+ · 4.5★ (459) wp.org #17 ↓2 4 too low 14

Wholesale Suite – B2B, Dynamic Pricing & WooCommerce Wholesale Prices 20K+ · 4.8★ (546) wp.org #21 ↓1 7 too low 15

Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) wp.org #18 ↓6 3 too low 16

Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #22 6 too low 17

WP Approve User 3K+ · 4.2★ (42) wp.org #10 7 too high 18

Depicter — Popup & Slider Builder 70K+ · 4.6★ (236) wp.org #23 5 too low 19

PublishPress Checklists: Pre-Publishing Approval Checklist – Validate Post Requirements 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #14 ↓1 5 too high 20

WooCommerce PayPal Payments 800K+ · 2.9★ (583) wp.org #12 ↑9 8 too high 21

WP Social Ninja – Embed Social Feeds, User Reviews & Chat Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (71) wp.org #24 3 too low 22

IP Address Approval 100+ · 3.7★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #13 9 too high 23

User Registration for Elementor Forms 200+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #19 ↓3 4 too high 24

Easy File Upload & Approval – A Simple File Submission & Review System 70+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews 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.