wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “website rating”
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 “website rating”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 5 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
Editorial Rating – Product Review & Rating System shows at wp.org #10 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.4★ average from 13 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 14387 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 
Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667)
wp.org #3 ↑4 1 too low 3 
UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706)
wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 
Reviews and Rating – Google Reviews 20K+ · 4.9★ (184) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #2 2 too high 5 
Starter Templates: AI-Powered Website Templates for Elementor & Gutenberg 1M+ · 4.9★ (4755)
wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too low 6 
Website Builder by SeedProd — Theme Builder, Landing Page Builder, Coming Soon Page, Maintenance Mode 600K+ · 4.9★ (4699)
wp.org #11 5 too low 7 
Rate My Post – Star Rating Plugin by FeedbackWP 20K+ · 4.7★ (159) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #5 ↓1 2 too high 8 
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) not PHP-current
wp.org #9 1 too low 9 
Customer Reviews for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (1539)
wp.org #14 5 too low 10 
Rich Showcase for Google Reviews 100K+ · 4.9★ (1623)
wp.org #15 ↑1 5 too low 11 
kk Star Ratings – Rate Post & Collect User Feedbacks 70K+ · 3.9★ (171)
wp.org #8 3 too high 12 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #18 6 too low 13 
All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #12 ↑1 1 too high 14 
GD Rating System 1K+ · 4.3★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #6 ↓1 8 too high 15 
Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397)
wp.org #22 ↓1 7 too low 16 
Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks 1M+ · 4.7★ (1872) heavy footprint
wp.org #19 3 too low 17 
All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720)
wp.org #24 7 too low 18 
Page Builder: Pagelayer – Drag and Drop website builder 400K+ · 3.9★ (104)
wp.org #13 ↓1 5 too high 19 
Stars Testimonials — Responsive Reviews & Star Ratings 1K+ · 4.8★ (65)
wp.org #20 1 too low 20 
Nexter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder & AI Website Builder 9K+ · 4.8★ (90) heavy footprint
wp.org #21 1 too low 21 
Like Button Rating ♥ LikeBtn 3K+ · 4.4★ (273) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #17 4 too high 22 Editorial Rating – Product Review & Rating System 200+ · 4.4★ (13) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #10 12 too high 23 
Widgets for Google Reviews and Ratings 3K+ · 4.2★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↓1 7 too high 24 
Elo Rating Shortcode 40+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #23 ↓1 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.