wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “websites”
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 “websites”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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
Website LLMs.txt shows at wp.org #6 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 50K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.7★ average from 12 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 3221 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.
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #1 2 
Meta Box – A Framework for Dynamic Websites 500K+ · 4.8★ (165)
wp.org #2 3 
UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706)
wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too low 4 
Starter Templates: AI-Powered Website Templates for Elementor & Gutenberg 1M+ · 4.9★ (4755)
wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5 
MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #3 2 too high 6 
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint
wp.org #7 ↑1 1 too low 7 
Jetpack Boost – Website Speed, Performance and Critical CSS 200K+ · 4.7★ (612)
wp.org #8 ↑3 1 too low 8 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221)
wp.org #15 ↑2 7 too low 9 
Beaver Builder Page Builder – Drag and Drop Website Builder 100K+ · 4.7★ (394)
wp.org #12 ↑2 3 too low 10 
Modular DS: Monitor, update, and backup multiple websites 40K+ · 5.0★ (133)
wp.org #11 ↑1 1 too low 11 
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821)
wp.org #18 ↑6 7 too low 12 
Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667)
wp.org #13 1 too low 13 
Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962)
wp.org #17 ↑2 4 too low 14 
Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667)
wp.org #16 ↑5 2 too low 15 
Kirki – Freeform Page Builder, Website Builder & Customizer 400K+ · 4.5★ (81)
wp.org #9 ↑1 6 too high 16 
Website Builder by SeedProd — Theme Builder, Landing Page Builder, Coming Soon Page, Maintenance Mode 600K+ · 4.9★ (4699)
wp.org #22 6 too low 17 
TranslatePress – Translate Multilingual sites with AI Translation 400K+ · 4.7★ (1667)
wp.org #21 ↓3 4 too low 18 Website LLMs.txt 50K+ · 4.7★ (12) thin reviews
wp.org #6 ↓2 12 too high 19 
LiveChat – Live Chat Plugin for WP Websites 10K+ · 4.6★ (98)
wp.org #14 ↑2 5 too high 20 
Spectra Blocks – AI Website Builder for the Block Editor 60K+ · 4.6★ (53) heavy footprint
wp.org #10 ↓3 10 too high 21 
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) not PHP-current
wp.org #19 ↑4 2 too high 22 
Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #20 2 too high 23 
Page Builder: Pagelayer – Drag and Drop website builder 400K+ · 3.9★ (104)
wp.org #24 1 too low 24 
Kadence Starter Templates — Predesigned Website Templates 200K+ · 4.3★ (19) host-installed base 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.