wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “user experience”
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 experience”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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
WooCommerce PayPal Payments shows at wp.org #9 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 800K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.9★ average from 583 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Internal Link Juicer: SEO Auto Linker for WordPress places #12 on merit, 4.7★ from 537 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #1 2 
User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738)
wp.org #2 3 
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281)
wp.org #4 1 too low 4 
Flying Pages: Preload Pages for Faster Navigation & Improved User Experience 20K+ · 4.9★ (79)
wp.org #3 1 too high 5 
W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420)
wp.org #8 3 too low 6 
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 #5 ↑2 1 too high 7 
Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) heavy footprint
wp.org #7 ↑1 8 
WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228)
wp.org #11 ↑3 3 too low 9 
Login as User: See the Site as Any User 30K+ · 4.8★ (41)
wp.org #6 ↓1 3 too high 10 
Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869)
wp.org #14 ↑6 4 too low 11 
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #15 ↓2 4 too low 12 Internal Link Juicer: SEO Auto Linker for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (537)
wp.org #17 5 too low 13 
Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN 1M+ · 4.8★ (6053)
wp.org #20 7 too low 14 
ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities 5K+ · 4.6★ (236) not PHP-current
wp.org #12 ↓2 2 too high 15 
The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461)
wp.org #18 3 too low 16 
Jetpack Boost – Website Speed, Performance and Critical CSS 200K+ · 4.7★ (612)
wp.org #22 6 too low 17 
User Admin Simplifier 10K+ · 5.0★ (31)
wp.org #13 ↓2 4 too high 18 
ProfilePress – Paid Membership, Online Courses (LMS), Ecommerce, User Registration & Login Form, User Profile & Restrict Content 100K+ · 3.1★ (938) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #10 ↓4 8 too high 19 
WPFront Scroll Top 200K+ · 4.9★ (142)
wp.org #23 ↓1 4 too low 20 
Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641)
wp.org #21 ↓4 1 too low 21 WooCommerce PayPal Payments 800K+ · 2.9★ (583) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #9 12 too high 22 
User Private Files – Secure File Sharing and Client Portal Plugin 1K+ · 4.4★ (57)
wp.org #19 3 too high 23 
WP Approve User 3K+ · 4.2★ (42)
wp.org #16 ↑8 7 too high 24 
Internal Links Manager 10K+ · 4.8★ (33)
wp.org #24 ↓3 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.