wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wordpress feature toggle”
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 feature toggle”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.
Ranked above its merit
Toggle Content shows at wp.org #9 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 700+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
MainWP Dashboard: Self-hosted WordPress Management for Agencies places #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 2354 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. 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 
MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157)
wp.org #2 3 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #3 4 
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5040)
wp.org #4 5 
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #5 6 
WP 2FA – Two-factor authentication for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (184)
wp.org #8 2 too low 7 
Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes 300K+ · 4.9★ (491)
wp.org #10 3 too low 8 MainWP Dashboard: Self-hosted WordPress Management for Agencies 20K+ · 4.9★ (2354)
wp.org #18 10 too low 9 
Translate WordPress – Google Language Translator 100K+ · 4.7★ (620)
wp.org #14 ↑1 5 too low 10 
Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN 1M+ · 4.8★ (6053)
wp.org #15 ↓1 5 too low 11 
Filter Everything — WordPress & WooCommerce Filters 50K+ · 4.6★ (154)
wp.org #11 12 
Loco Translate 1M+ · 4.8★ (453)
wp.org #13 1 too low 13 
LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778)
wp.org #19 ↑2 6 too low 14 
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132)
wp.org #21 ↓2 7 too low 15 
MapPress – Google Maps, OpenStreetMap & Leaflet 30K+ · 4.7★ (147)
wp.org #16 ↑1 1 too low 16 
Dark Mode Toggle 2K+ · 4.6★ (19) thin reviews
wp.org #7 9 too high 17 
Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807)
wp.org #22 ↓4 5 too low 18 
Accordion Toggle 2K+ · 4.5★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #6 12 too high 19 
Performance Lab 100K+ · 4.3★ (51)
wp.org #17 ↓1 2 too high 20 
Notibar – Notification Bar for WordPress 8K+ · 4.8★ (71)
wp.org #24 4 too low 21 
GoSMTP – SMTP for WordPress 500K+ · 4.3★ (10) host-installed base thin reviews
wp.org #12 9 too high 22 
Turn Off AI Features 400+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #23 ↓1 1 too low 23 Toggle Content 700+ · 3.0★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #9 14 too high 24 
Hostinger Reach – AI-Powered Email Marketing for WordPress 1M+ · 5.0★ (8) host-installed base thin reviews
wp.org #20 4 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.