wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “white list”
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 “white list”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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
DoFollow Case by Case shows at wp.org #11 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 8 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents places #12 on merit, 5.0★ from 199 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.
White Label – WordPress Custom Admin, Custom Login Page, and Custom Dashboard 10K+ · 5.0★ (21) thin reviews
wp.org #1 2 
WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209)
wp.org #3 1 too low 3 
Branda – White Label & Branding, Free Login Page Customizer 10K+ · 4.5★ (30)
wp.org #2 1 too high 4 
WP 2FA – Two-factor authentication for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (184)
wp.org #5 1 too low 5 
Adminify – White Label, Admin Menu Editor, Login Customizer 6K+ · 4.3★ (109)
wp.org #4 1 too high 6 
Product Table & List Builder for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.9★ (254)
wp.org #8 ↑1 2 too low 7 
SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO 300K+ · 4.8★ (1267)
wp.org #10 ↓2 3 too low 8 
Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #6 2 too high 9 
WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617)
wp.org #13 4 too low 10 
Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #9 ↑1 1 too high 11 
Author Avatars List/Block 4K+ · 4.8★ (32)
wp.org #7 4 too high 12 WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (199)
wp.org #17 ↓1 5 too low 13 
Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612)
wp.org #18 ↑1 5 too low 14 
Under Construction 600K+ · 4.8★ (1285)
wp.org #21 ↓3 7 too low 15 
ManageWP Worker 1M+ · 4.6★ (679)
wp.org #16 ↑1 1 too low 16 
Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167)
wp.org #19 ↑2 3 too low 17 
Easy Updates Manager 300K+ · 4.8★ (726)
wp.org #24 ↓1 7 too low 18 
Disable XML-RPC-API 100K+ · 4.2★ (43)
wp.org #12 6 too high 19 
Alex Reservations – Restaurant Reservations, Tables & White-Label Booking System 200+ · 4.9★ (28)
wp.org #14 ↑1 5 too high 20 
Simple Staff List 3K+ · 4.6★ (40)
wp.org #15 ↓1 5 too high 21 
Advanced Shipment Tracking for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.5★ (355) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #23 2 too low 22 
Forms for Mailchimp by Optin Cat – Grow Your MailChimp List 2K+ · 4.4★ (77) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #20 2 too high 23 DoFollow Case by Case 1K+ · 4.0★ (8) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #11 12 too high 24 
Easy Basic Authentication – Add basic auth to site or admin area 800+ · 5.0★ (3) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #22 2 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.