wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “whos”
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 “whos”, 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.
Ranked above its merit
Skyboot Custom Icons for Elementor – Elementor Icons library – 14300+ Icons shows at wp.org #12 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 200K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 22 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery places #10 on merit, 4.3★ from 4342 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051)
wp.org #1 ↑1 2 
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27820)
wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too low 3 
Contact Form 7 10M+ · 4.0★ (2186)
wp.org #2 ↓1 1 too high 4 
MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435)
wp.org #4 ↓1 5 
Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes 300K+ · 4.9★ (491)
wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too low 6 
All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231)
wp.org #7 ↑2 1 too low 7 
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281)
wp.org #8 ↓2 1 too low 8 
Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667)
wp.org #9 ↓4 1 too low 9 
Activity Log – Monitor User and Agent Changes 200K+ · 4.3★ (74)
wp.org #5 ↑6 4 too high 10 Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery 300K+ · 4.3★ (4342)
wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too low 11 
Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510)
wp.org #10 ↓2 1 too high 12 
Polylang 900K+ · 4.7★ (3004)
wp.org #15 ↑4 3 too low 13 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #11 ↓1 2 too high 14 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #20 6 too low 15 
Classic Editor 8M+ · 4.9★ (1251)
wp.org #18 ↓2 3 too low 16 
Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks 1M+ · 4.7★ (1872)
wp.org #19 ↑1 3 too low 17 
WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346)
wp.org #16 ↑6 1 too high 18 
BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55)
wp.org #13 ↑2 5 too high 19 
Cart Abandonment Recovery for WooCommerce – Recover Lost Sales with Automated Emails 300K+ · 4.8★ (626)
wp.org #22 ↑2 3 too low 20 
Under Construction 600K+ · 4.8★ (1285)
wp.org #23 ↓5 3 too low 21 
Access Governance for WordPress (aka AAM) 100K+ · 4.2★ (420)
wp.org #21 ↑2 22 Skyboot Custom Icons for Elementor – Elementor Icons library – 14300+ Icons 200K+ · 5.0★ (22) thin reviews
wp.org #12 10 too high 23 
WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway 700K+ · 3.1★ (237)
wp.org #17 6 too high 24 
Who Changed It? – Activity Log & Audit Trail 100+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #24 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.