wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “video creation”
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 “video creation”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 3 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
Cloudinary – Deliver Images and Videos at Scale shows at wp.org #11 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 5K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 64 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager places #10 on merit, 5.0★ from 1525 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.
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #1 2 
Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616)
wp.org #2 3 
All-in-One Video Gallery – Video Player & Galleries for YouTube, Vimeo & Self-Hosted Videos 20K+ · 4.8★ (136)
wp.org #3 ↑1 4 
FooGallery Photo Gallery : Image, Video & Masonry Galleries 100K+ · 4.8★ (995) not PHP-current
wp.org #4 ↓1 5 
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint
wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too low 6 
Customer Reviews for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (1539)
wp.org #12 ↑2 6 too low 7 
Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) heavy footprint
wp.org #7 ↑3 8 
Video Popup – Video Lightbox for YouTube, Vimeo & MP4 10K+ · 4.5★ (43)
wp.org #5 3 too high 9 
Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807)
wp.org #10 ↓2 1 too low 10 Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1525)
wp.org #18 ↑4 8 too low 11 
Smart Slider 3 800K+ · 4.9★ (1125)
wp.org #14 ↑1 3 too low 12 
GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155)
wp.org #9 3 too high 13 
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) not PHP-current
wp.org #13 ↑3 14 
Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #8 ↑3 6 too high 15 
Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667)
wp.org #17 2 too low 16 
Tutor LMS – eLearning and online course solution 100K+ · 4.4★ (590) heavy footprint
wp.org #15 ↓2 1 too high 17 
Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423)
wp.org #21 ↓1 4 too low 18 Cloudinary – Deliver Images and Videos at Scale 5K+ · 4.0★ (64)
wp.org #11 ↑1 7 too high 19 
Popup Box – Create Countdown, Coupon, Video, Contact Form Popups 50K+ · 4.6★ (82)
wp.org #22 ↓1 3 too low 20 
Vimeography: Vimeo Video Gallery WordPress Plugin 5K+ · 4.5★ (122) not PHP-current
wp.org #20 ↓1 21 
Slider Hero with Video Background, Animation 3K+ · 4.8★ (34)
wp.org #19 ↓1 2 too high 22 
FV Flowplayer Video Player 10K+ · 4.4★ (90) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #16 ↑1 6 too high 23 
FlexMeeting – Webinar & Meeting Plugin for Jitsi Meet 1K+ · 4.5★ (38)
wp.org #24 1 too low 24 
VdoCipher: Secure Video Player and Hosting 2K+ · 4.2★ (14) thin reviews
wp.org #23 1 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.