wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “user friendly”
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 friendly”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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
SAR Friendly SMTP shows at wp.org #7 but places #13 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.6★ average from 46 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 #6 on merit, 4.8★ from 27821 reviews, but shows at wp.org #11. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) not PHP-current
wp.org #2 1 too low 2 
WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (759)
wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too low 3 
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 
Friendly Captcha for WordPress 10K+ · 3.9★ (18) thin reviews
wp.org #1 3 too high 5 
WP User Manager – Registration Form, Login Form, User Profile Builder & Member Directory 10K+ · 4.7★ (350) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #5 6 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821)
wp.org #11 ↑1 5 too low 7 
New User Approve 20K+ · 4.3★ (131)
wp.org #6 1 too high 8 
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #12 ↓2 4 too low 9 
Popup Builder – Create highly converting, mobile friendly marketing popups. 200K+ · 4.7★ (2215) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #8 ↑12 1 too high 10 
Import and export users and customers 70K+ · 4.7★ (259)
wp.org #10 ↓1 11 
Photo Gallery by 10Web – Mobile-Friendly Image Gallery 100K+ · 4.5★ (1581) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #9 ↓1 2 too high 12 
Koko Analytics – Privacy-Friendly WordPress Analytics 70K+ · 5.0★ (245)
wp.org #13 ↓2 1 too low 13 SAR Friendly SMTP 2K+ · 4.6★ (46)
wp.org #7 6 too high 14 
ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities 5K+ · 4.6★ (236) not PHP-current
wp.org #14 ↑2 15 
LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778)
wp.org #22 ↓1 7 too low 16 
Easy Table of Contents 600K+ · 4.4★ (221)
wp.org #15 ↓2 1 too high 17 
WP Recipe Maker 50K+ · 5.0★ (356) heavy footprint
wp.org #21 ↓6 4 too low 18 
Form Maker by 10Web – Mobile-Friendly Drag & Drop Contact Form Builder 30K+ · 4.5★ (778) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #16 ↓2 2 too high 19 
Multi Step for Contact Form 7 10K+ · 4.7★ (77)
wp.org #17 ↑5 2 too high 20 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #23 ↑1 3 too low 21 
Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296)
wp.org #24 ↓6 3 too low 22 
Restrict User Access – Ultimate Membership & Content Protection 10K+ · 4.3★ (94) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #19 3 too high 23 
Disable User Login 6K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↓1 5 too high 24 
WP User Merger 300+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #20 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.