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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wordpress cleaner”

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 cleaner”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

CodingBunny Database Cleaner shows at wp.org #13 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

MainWP Dashboard: Self-hosted WordPress Management for Agencies places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 2354 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Media Cleaner: Delete Unused Images & Clean Your Media Library 90K+ · 4.6★ (779) wp.org #1 2 Database Cleaner: Cleanup, Optimization & Repair 10K+ · 5.0★ (150) wp.org #2 3 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4229) wp.org #3 ↑2 4 Advanced Database Cleaner – Optimize & Clean Database to Speed Up Site Performance 100K+ · 4.9★ (1962) wp.org #5 ↓2 1 too low 5 MalCare WordPress Security Plugin – Malware Scanner, Cleaner, Security Firewall 100K+ · 4.4★ (559) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #9 ↑1 3 too low 7 WPS Cleaner 10K+ · 4.3★ (99) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 LWS Cleaner 20K+ · 4.8★ (16) wp.org #4 4 too high 9 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8709) wp.org #18 9 too low 10 MainWP Dashboard: Self-hosted WordPress Management for Agencies 20K+ · 4.9★ (2354) wp.org #22 12 too low 11 Log cleaner for Kadence Security 7K+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #7 4 too high 12 Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #17 5 too low 13 FancyBox for WordPress 30K+ · 4.6★ (92) wp.org #12 1 too high 14 Business Directory Plugin – Easy Listing & Member Directories for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (504) wp.org #24 ↓1 10 too low 15 Transient Cleaner 1K+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #14 ↓1 1 too high 16 E Easy WP Cleaner 2K+ · 5.0★ (41) wp.org #23 ↓3 7 too low 17 Easy Actions Scheduler Cleaner 900+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #15 2 too high 18 Dashboard Cleaner 400+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #10 ↓1 8 too high 19 WS Action Scheduler Cleaner 3K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #11 8 too high 20 W wp_head() cleaner 2K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #16 ↓2 4 too high 21 WP Cron Cleaner 400+ · 3.4★ (12) wp.org #19 ↓2 2 too high 22 Cache Cleaner X-Ray – Performance & Database Diagnostics 200+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #20 ↓2 2 too high 23 CodingBunny Database Cleaner 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 ↑3 10 too high 24 DevDome Media Cleaner: Remove Unused Images & Media Library Cleanup 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 ↓2 3 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.