wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “user collection”
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 collection”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 5 of the top 20. 4 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
Section Collection – Add Ready-made Sections to Design Modern Websites shows at wp.org #7 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 400+ 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
TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy places #9 on merit, 5.0★ from 4625 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.
User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (832)
wp.org #1 2 
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281)
wp.org #2 3 
User Submitted Posts – Enable Users to Submit Posts from the Front End 10K+ · 4.8★ (913)
wp.org #5 ↓1 2 too low 4 
Open User Map – Interactive Leaflet Maps 10K+ · 5.0★ (70)
wp.org #4 ↑2 5 
User Frontend – Membership, User Registration, User Profile, User Directory & Content Restriction with Frontend Post Submission 20K+ · 4.1★ (537) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #3 2 too high 6 
LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778)
wp.org #6 ↓1 7 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #8 ↑2 1 too low 8 
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) not PHP-current
wp.org #9 1 too low 9 TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625)
wp.org #16 7 too low 10 
WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346)
wp.org #11 ↑3 1 too low 11 
UsersWP – Front-end login form, User Registration, User Profile & Members Directory plugin for WP 20K+ · 4.7★ (183)
wp.org #12 ↓4 1 too low 12 
Export and Import Users and Customers 50K+ · 4.8★ (442) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #10 ↑3 2 too high 13 
ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051)
wp.org #17 4 too low 14 
Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418)
wp.org #24 ↓1 10 too low 15 
Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641)
wp.org #15 ↓3 16 
Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157)
wp.org #14 ↑1 2 too high 17 
Redirection 2M+ · 4.4★ (703)
wp.org #19 ↑2 2 too low 18 
GenerateBlocks 200K+ · 4.9★ (122)
wp.org #20 2 too low 19 
SimpLy Gallery 40K+ · 4.8★ (118)
wp.org #21 2 too low 20 
GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155)
wp.org #22 ↓2 2 too low 21 
CBX Bookmark & Favorite 1K+ · 4.6★ (49) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #13 ↓2 8 too high 22 
bBlocks – Essential Gutenberg Blocks & Patterns Collection 700+ · 5.0★ (8) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint thin reviews
wp.org #23 ↓1 1 too low 23 Section Collection – Add Ready-made Sections to Design Modern Websites 400+ · 5.0★ (1) heavy footprint thin reviews
wp.org #7 16 too high 24 
User Post Collections 20+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #18 6 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.