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

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 contributors”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 of the top 20. 2 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

Molongui Post Contributors: Multi-Role Contributor Attribution shows at wp.org #11 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 400+ 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.

merit plugin signals wp.org

WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #1 2

WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #2 3

The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #3 4

AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874) wp.org #4 ↑3 5

Translate WordPress – Google Language Translator 100K+ · 4.7★ (620) wp.org #7 ↑3 2 too low 6

Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) not PHP-current wp.org #6 ↓2 7

Molongui Authorship – Author Boxes, Guest Authors & Co-Authors for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (158) wp.org #9 ↓4 2 too low 8

Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296) wp.org #8 9

Sentry for WordPress 10K+ · 4.9★ (16) thin reviews wp.org #5 ↑1 4 too high 10

Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418) wp.org #13 3 too low 11

پارسی دیت – Parsi Date 100K+ · 4.6★ (130) wp.org #10 ↑1 1 too high 12

BuddyPress 90K+ · 4.1★ (375) wp.org #12 13

Database Backup for WordPress 60K+ · 4.5★ (66) wp.org #14 1 too low 14

Category Order and Taxonomy Terms Order 500K+ · 4.5★ (162) wp.org #18 3 too low 16

bbPress 100K+ · 3.9★ (343) wp.org #21 5 too low 17

Gutenberg 400K+ · 2.1★ (3888) wp.org #17 18

Powerkit – Supercharge your WordPress Site 10K+ · 4.5★ (14) thin reviews wp.org #15 3 too high 19

FV Flowplayer Video Player 10K+ · 4.4★ (90) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #19 ↑1 20

Podlove Podcast Publisher 3K+ · 4.3★ (45) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #16 4 too high 21

WPCasa – Real Estate for WordPress 1K+ · 4.2★ (36) not PHP-current wp.org #23 2 too low 22 E Enable Contributor Uploads 300+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #20 ↓1 2 too high 23

Molongui Post Contributors: Multi-Role Contributor Attribution 400+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #11 ↓2 12 too high 24

Praison AI SEO 1K+ · 3.6★ (5) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #22 2 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.