Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “very”

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 “very”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Very Simple PayPal Donation Form shows at wp.org #3 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 19 places. Its 200+ 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

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 3220 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Very Simple Google Maps 3K+ · 4.5★ (17) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 BuddyPress 90K+ · 4.1★ (375) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 VS Event List 8K+ · 4.9★ (82) wp.org #5 6 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #10 ↓1 4 too low 7 WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1915) wp.org #9 ↓1 2 too low 8 VS Contact Form 6K+ · 4.8★ (50) wp.org #6 ↑5 2 too high 9 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #15 ↓1 6 too low 10 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #13 ↓3 3 too low 11 Polylang 900K+ · 4.7★ (3003) wp.org #12 ↑3 1 too low 12 Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #11 ↓5 1 too high 13 WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470) wp.org #19 ↑1 6 too low 14 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #14 ↓1 15 Easy Updates Manager 300K+ · 4.8★ (726) wp.org #16 ↑1 1 too low 16 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too low 17 WP All Export – Drag & Drop Export to Any Custom CSV, XML & Excel 100K+ · 4.5★ (415) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 VS Meta Description 3K+ · 4.4★ (16) wp.org #8 ↑4 10 too high 19 Popup Builder – Create highly converting, mobile friendly marketing popups. 200K+ · 4.7★ (2215) wp.org #23 ↑1 4 too low 20 Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) wp.org #21 ↓2 1 too low 21 NinjaFirewall (WP Edition) – Advanced Security Plugin and Firewall 100K+ · 4.9★ (220) wp.org #20 ↑1 1 too high 22 Very Simple PayPal Donation Form 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 19 too high 23 VS Website Closed 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 ↑5 5 too high 24 Useful Blocks 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 2 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.