wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wordpress admin”
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 “wordpress admin”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 5 of the top 20. 4 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
Admin Bar Editor – Toolbar Customization with User Role based access & Custom menus shows at wp.org #16 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.4★ average from 24 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423)
wp.org #1 ↑1 2 
Admin Columns 100K+ · 4.9★ (1652)
wp.org #3 1 too low 3 
MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #2 ↓1 1 too high 4 
Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962)
wp.org #4 5 
TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625)
wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too low 6 
Admin Menu Editor 300K+ · 4.6★ (312)
wp.org #5 1 too high 7 
Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups 80K+ · 4.4★ (859)
wp.org #8 ↑3 1 too low 8 
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #11 ↑1 3 too low 9 
Disable Admin Notices – Hide Dashboard Notifications 100K+ · 4.7★ (367)
wp.org #9 ↓1 10 
BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) not PHP-current
wp.org #7 ↑2 3 too high 11 
WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (195)
wp.org #10 ↑3 1 too high 12 
Admin Custom Login 10K+ · 4.6★ (388)
wp.org #12 ↓2 13 
Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186)
wp.org #13 14 
WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228)
wp.org #18 4 too low 15 
Change Admin Email 40K+ · 4.8★ (141)
wp.org #14 1 too high 16 
WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1915)
wp.org #22 6 too low 17 
Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167)
wp.org #21 4 too low 18 
Disable All WordPress Updates 20K+ · 4.8★ (69)
wp.org #17 ↓2 1 too high 19 
View Admin As 9K+ · 4.9★ (49)
wp.org #19 ↓1 20 
BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #15 ↑2 5 too high 21 
User Admin Simplifier 10K+ · 5.0★ (31)
wp.org #20 1 too high 22 
GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155)
wp.org #24 ↓3 2 too low 23 Admin Bar Editor – Toolbar Customization with User Role based access & Custom menus 3K+ · 4.4★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #16 7 too high 24 
WP Custom Admin Interface 30K+ · 4.7★ (160) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #23 ↓4 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.