wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wordpress contents”
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 contents”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 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
WordPress Importer shows at wp.org #12 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 2M+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.1★ average from 327 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 14387 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27820)
wp.org #1 2 
Table of Contents Plus – Automatic Table of Contents for Posts & Pages 200K+ · 4.5★ (187)
wp.org #2 ↑2 3 
MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157)
wp.org #3 ↓1 4 
Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962)
wp.org #4 ↓1 5 
TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625)
wp.org #6 1 too low 6 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #7 ↑1 1 too low 7 
Easy Table of Contents 600K+ · 4.4★ (221)
wp.org #5 2 too high 8 
Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418)
wp.org #8 ↓1 9 
Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups 80K+ · 4.4★ (859)
wp.org #10 1 too low 10 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #15 5 too low 11 
BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323)
wp.org #11 12 
WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (199)
wp.org #14 2 too low 13 
WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4229)
wp.org #18 ↑4 5 too low 14 
Filter Everything — WordPress & WooCommerce Filters 50K+ · 4.6★ (154)
wp.org #13 1 too high 15 
MxChat – AI Chatbot & Content Generation for WordPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (31)
wp.org #9 6 too high 16 
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #21 ↓3 5 too low 17 
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5040)
wp.org #22 ↓1 5 too low 18 
Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186)
wp.org #19 ↑5 1 too low 19 
Joli Table Of Contents – Table of Contents with Gutenberg Block & Shortcode 7K+ · 4.9★ (43)
wp.org #17 2 too high 20 WordPress Importer 2M+ · 3.1★ (327)
wp.org #12 8 too high 21 
FancyBox for WordPress 30K+ · 4.6★ (92)
wp.org #24 3 too low 22 
GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155)
wp.org #23 ↓3 1 too low 23 
Heroic Table of Contents 5K+ · 4.7★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too high 24 
Table Of Contents Block 10K+ · 4.3★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↑1 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.