wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wordpress forum”
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 forum”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 of the top 20. 3 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
reCAPTCHA for Asgaros Forum shows at wp.org #8 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 4K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 8706 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. 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★ (27821)
wp.org #1 2 
Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962)
wp.org #2 ↑1 3 
wpForo Forum 20K+ · 4.7★ (390) not PHP-current
wp.org #3 ↓1 4 
TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625)
wp.org #5 ↑2 1 too low 5 
Discussion Board – WordPress Forum Plugin 1K+ · 4.6★ (43)
wp.org #4 1 too high 6 
BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) not PHP-current
wp.org #7 ↑1 1 too low 7 
Asgaros Forum 10K+ · 4.7★ (210) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too high 8 
MC4WP: Mailchimp for WordPress 1M+ · 4.8★ (1497)
wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too low 9 
Contact Form 7 10M+ · 4.0★ (2186)
wp.org #10 ↑5 1 too low 10 
bbPress 100K+ · 3.9★ (343)
wp.org #9 1 too high 11 
Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186)
wp.org #13 ↑3 2 too low 12 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706)
wp.org #19 ↑1 7 too low 13 
WP 2FA – Two-factor authentication for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (184)
wp.org #14 ↑7 1 too low 14 
Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #12 2 too high 15 
The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461)
wp.org #18 ↓1 3 too low 16 
FG Joomla to WordPress 7K+ · 4.7★ (336)
wp.org #17 ↑2 1 too low 17 
LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778)
wp.org #21 ↓3 4 too low 18 
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #23 5 too low 19 
FancyBox for WordPress 30K+ · 4.6★ (92)
wp.org #16 ↓3 3 too high 20 
Filter Everything — WordPress & WooCommerce Filters 50K+ · 4.6★ (154)
wp.org #20 ↓6 21 
Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667)
wp.org #24 3 too low 22 
Simple:Press Forum 300+ · 4.2★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #15 ↓3 7 too high 23 reCAPTCHA for Asgaros Forum 4K+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #8 ↓2 15 too high 24 
GoSMTP – SMTP for WordPress 500K+ · 4.3★ (10) host-installed base 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.