wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “view post”
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 “view post”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20.
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
Wp Post Views – WordPress Post views counter shows at wp.org #9 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 4K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.4★ average from 7 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 #8 on merit, 5.0★ from 1525 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1236)
wp.org #1 ↑3 2 
Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296)
wp.org #2 ↓1 3 
Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528)
wp.org #3 ↓1 4 
Content Views – Post Grid & Filter (Shortcode, Blocks, Elementor Widgets) 100K+ · 4.8★ (333) heavy footprint
wp.org #4 ↓1 5 
Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (587)
wp.org #5 6 
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint
wp.org #7 1 too low 7 
CMS Tree Page View – Reorder Pages with a Drag-and-Drop Tree 50K+ · 4.9★ (365)
wp.org #10 3 too low 8 Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1525)
wp.org #19 ↑1 11 too low 9 
The Post Grid – Shortcode, Gutenberg Blocks and Elementor Addon for Post Grid 100K+ · 4.8★ (265)
wp.org #14 5 too low 10 
View Transitions 10K+ · 5.0★ (22) thin reviews
wp.org #8 2 too high 11 
Post Duplicator 200K+ · 4.8★ (80)
wp.org #11 12 
Post View Count 4K+ · 4.6★ (18) thin reviews
wp.org #6 6 too high 13 
Ultimate Post Kit – Elementor Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider & Blog Layout Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (58)
wp.org #13 14 
Admin Menu Tree Page View 10K+ · 4.6★ (48)
wp.org #12 2 too high 15 
Smart Post – Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider Gutenberg Blocks for Blog & News 20K+ · 4.7★ (210) heavy footprint
wp.org #18 ↓1 3 too low 16 
Public Post Preview 100K+ · 4.6★ (79)
wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too low 17 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #20 3 too low 18 
Post Grid 30K+ · 4.3★ (163)
wp.org #22 ↓1 4 too low 19 
Post Slider and Post Carousel with Post Vertical Scrolling Widget – A Responsive Post Slider 10K+ · 4.7★ (31)
wp.org #23 ↓1 4 too low 20 Wp Post Views – WordPress Post views counter 4K+ · 4.4★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #9 11 too high 21 
Post Views for Jetpack 1K+ · 5.0★ (13) thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↓1 22 
Duplicate Post – duplicate pages, copy content, clone posts 5K+ · 4.7★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #16 6 too high 23 
View Post Counter – Website Analytics 100+ · 4.8★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #15 ↓1 8 too high 24 
View User Metadata 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #24 ↓1 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.