Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 meta”, 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

JSM Show User Metadata shows at wp.org #6 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 3K+ 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

User Submitted Posts – Enable Users to Submit Posts from the Front End places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 913 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Meta Box – A Framework for Dynamic Websites 500K+ · 4.8★ (165) wp.org #1 2 Import and export users and customers 70K+ · 4.7★ (259) wp.org #2 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 User Role Editor 700K+ · 4.5★ (288) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 User Switching 200K+ · 4.9★ (238) wp.org #5 ↓1 6 Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #16 ↑3 9 too low 8 User Submitted Posts – Enable Users to Submit Posts from the Front End 10K+ · 4.8★ (913) wp.org #18 ↓3 10 too low 9 Meta Tag Manager 70K+ · 4.8★ (84) wp.org #9 ↓1 10 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #20 ↑1 10 too low 11 W WP Meta and Date Remover 80K+ · 4.2★ (71) wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too high 12 WP User Manager – Registration Form, Login Form, User Profile Builder & Member Directory 10K+ · 4.7★ (350) wp.org #12 ↓2 13 User Frontend – Membership, User Registration, User Profile, User Directory & Content Restriction with Frontend Post Submission 20K+ · 4.1★ (537) wp.org #11 ↑1 2 too high 14 New User Approve 20K+ · 4.3★ (131) wp.org #15 ↑3 1 too low 15 Meta Field Block – Display Custom Fields for ACF, Meta Box and More 10K+ · 5.0★ (57) wp.org #13 ↑3 2 too high 16 One User Avatar | User Profile Picture 100K+ · 4.7★ (41) wp.org #14 ↓3 2 too high 17 ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities 5K+ · 4.6★ (236) wp.org #23 6 too low 18 Export and Import Users and Customers 50K+ · 4.8★ (442) wp.org #22 4 too low 19 Head Meta Data 10K+ · 4.8★ (19) wp.org #17 ↓4 2 too high 20 ProfilePress – Paid Membership, Online Courses (LMS), Ecommerce, User Registration & Login Form, User Profile & Restrict Content 100K+ · 3.1★ (938) wp.org #19 ↓2 1 too high 21 JSM Show User Metadata 3K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 15 too high 22 View User Metadata 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 ↑6 14 too high 23 Manage User Columns 1K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Kliken: Ads + Pixel for Meta 30K+ · 3.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↑1 3 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.