wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “windows drive”
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 “windows drive”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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
Royal WordPress Backup, Restore & Migration Plugin – Backup WordPress Sites Safely shows at wp.org #9 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 30K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8709)
wp.org #2 1 too low 2 
Modal Window – create popup modal window 10K+ · 3.8★ (36)
wp.org #1 1 too high 3 
PDF Invoices & Packing Slips for WooCommerce 300K+ · 5.0★ (1865)
wp.org #4 ↓2 1 too low 4 
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 
WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470)
wp.org #6 1 too low 6 
Backuply – Backup, Restore, Migrate and Clone 600K+ · 4.5★ (135)
wp.org #3 3 too high 7 
File Manager 1M+ · 4.6★ (1492)
wp.org #7 8 
Download Monitor 80K+ · 4.5★ (525)
wp.org #8 ↓3 9 
Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder 600K+ · 4.9★ (4514)
wp.org #12 ↓4 3 too low 10 
Download Manager 90K+ · 4.1★ (1006)
wp.org #10 ↓4 11 
AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874)
wp.org #13 ↑2 2 too low 12 
BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323)
wp.org #11 1 too high 13 
Email Marketing for WooCommerce by Omnisend 40K+ · 4.9★ (169)
wp.org #14 ↓3 1 too low 14 
JetBackup – Backup, Restore & Migrate 200K+ · 4.5★ (1056)
wp.org #17 ↓5 3 too low 15 
FileBird – WordPress Media Library Folders & File Manager 200K+ · 4.7★ (1125)
wp.org #21 ↓7 6 too low 16 
Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186)
wp.org #18 ↑1 2 too low 17 
OneSignal – Web Push Notifications 60K+ · 4.3★ (360)
wp.org #20 ↓4 3 too low 18 
VikBooking Hotel Booking Engine & PMS 8K+ · 4.8★ (61)
wp.org #15 ↑2 3 too high 19 
Document Embedder – let visitors read files without downloading 9K+ · 4.9★ (120)
wp.org #19 ↓6 20 
HurryTimer – An Scarcity and Urgency Countdown Timer for WordPress & WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.8★ (170)
wp.org #24 4 too low 21 
WP Meteor Website Speed Optimization Addon 20K+ · 4.7★ (77)
wp.org #23 ↓2 2 too low 22 Royal WordPress Backup, Restore & Migration Plugin – Backup WordPress Sites Safely 30K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #9 13 too high 23 
Social Proof Popups & Real-Time Notifications – Herd Effects 900+ · 3.9★ (15) thin reviews
wp.org #22 ↓2 1 too high 24 
Customer Cloud Gallery – Google Drive & Dropbox Image Gallery 50+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↓6 8 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.