wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “visitor 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 “visitor post”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

Visitor Count by MrStar shows at wp.org #13 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 400+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.5★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy places #12 on merit, 5.0★ from 4625 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276) wp.org #1 2

Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1236) wp.org #2 ↑8 3

The Post Grid – Shortcode, Gutenberg Blocks and Elementor Addon for Post Grid 100K+ · 4.8★ (265) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4

Ultimate Post Kit – Elementor Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider & Blog Layout Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (58) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too high 5

User Submitted Posts – Enable Users to Submit Posts from the Front End 10K+ · 4.8★ (913) wp.org #9 4 too low 6

Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012) wp.org #6 7

Smart Post – Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider Gutenberg Blocks for Blog & News 20K+ · 4.7★ (210) heavy footprint wp.org #7 ↓2 8

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #11 ↓4 3 too low 9

Rate My Post – Star Rating Plugin by FeedbackWP 20K+ · 4.7★ (159) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #5 ↑3 4 too high 10

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #8 ↓4 2 too high 11

Duplicate Post 300K+ · 4.9★ (1623) wp.org #15 ↓5 4 too low 12

TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625) wp.org #17 ↑1 5 too low 13

Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #10 ↑3 3 too high 14

Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #14 ↑5 15

AnWP Post Grid and Post Carousel Slider for Elementor 20K+ · 4.9★ (84) wp.org #18 2 too low 17

MWW Scheduled Post Trigger 60K+ · 4.4★ (27) wp.org #12 ↑2 6 too high 19

W4 Post List 3K+ · 4.7★ (94) wp.org #21 2 too low 20

Advanced Post Block – Display Your Posts Exactly How You Want 10K+ · 4.2★ (17) not PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #16 4 too high 21

Better Post & Filter Widgets for Elementor 4K+ · 5.0★ (18) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #20 1 too high 22

Solid Post Likes 500+ · 4.8★ (9) thin reviews wp.org #22 23

Visitor Count by MrStar 400+ · 4.5★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #13 ↑2 10 too high 24 S Show Visitor IP 300+ · 3.6★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #23 ↓3 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.