wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wish”
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 “wish”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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
Wishlist and Waitlist for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #7 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.9★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
The SEO Framework – Fast, Automated, Effortless. places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 380 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Wishlist for WooCommerce: Multiple Wishlists per Customer 2K+ · 4.9★ (53)
wp.org #1 2 
User Role Editor 700K+ · 4.5★ (288)
wp.org #2 3 
301 Redirects – Redirect Manager 300K+ · 4.7★ (578)
wp.org #3 4 
Nav Menu Roles 70K+ · 4.9★ (219)
wp.org #6 2 too low 5 
Really Simple CAPTCHA 300K+ · 4.2★ (131)
wp.org #4 1 too high 6 
Table of Contents Plus – Automatic Table of Contents for Posts & Pages 200K+ · 4.5★ (187)
wp.org #5 1 too high 7 
WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617)
wp.org #10 3 too low 8 
MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157)
wp.org #12 4 too low 9 The SEO Framework – Fast, Automated, Effortless. 200K+ · 4.9★ (380)
wp.org #22 ↑1 13 too low 10 D Disable XML-RPC 200K+ · 4.1★ (34)
wp.org #9 1 too high 11 
XML Sitemap & Google News 100K+ · 4.4★ (85)
wp.org #16 ↑1 5 too low 12 
WordPress Importer 2M+ · 3.1★ (327)
wp.org #11 1 too high 13 
Interactive Content – H5P 40K+ · 4.8★ (61)
wp.org #20 7 too low 14 
White Label CMS 200K+ · 4.7★ (114)
wp.org #23 ↑1 9 too low 15 
Wishlist for WooCommerce 800+ · 4.7★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #8 7 too high 16 
Code Embed 10K+ · 4.4★ (45)
wp.org #21 5 too low 17 
Genesis Simple Share 10K+ · 4.4★ (33)
wp.org #17 ↓1 18 
Child Theme Wizard 10K+ · 4.9★ (36)
wp.org #24 ↓2 6 too low 19 
Ocean Custom Sidebar 20K+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #13 6 too high 20 Wishlist and Waitlist for WooCommerce 100+ · 3.9★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #7 13 too high 21 
Wishlist 300+ · 3.8★ (13) thin reviews
wp.org #14 7 too high 22 
Astra Customizer Reset 20K+ · 4.8★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #18 4 too high 23 
QODE Wishlist for WooCommerce 10K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #15 8 too high 24 
Addonify – WooCommerce Wishlist 1K+ · 4.3★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #19 5 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.