wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wordpress gallery”
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 gallery”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 3 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
MetaSlider Gallery – Image Gallery, Lightbox Galleries, Video Galleries shows at wp.org #17 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.4★ average from 9 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery 300K+ · 4.3★ (4342) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #1 2 
Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616)
wp.org #2 3 
Robo Gallery – Photo & Image Slider 40K+ · 4.3★ (406)
wp.org #3 ↑12 4 
FooGallery Photo Gallery : Image, Video & Masonry Galleries 100K+ · 4.8★ (995) not PHP-current
wp.org #4 ↓1 5 
Photo Gallery by 10Web – Mobile-Friendly Image Gallery 100K+ · 4.5★ (1581) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #5 ↑2 6 
Social Feed Gallery 80K+ · 4.5★ (303)
wp.org #6 ↑5 7 
Envira Gallery – Image Photo Gallery, Albums, Video Gallery, Slideshows & More 100K+ · 4.7★ (1597)
wp.org #9 ↓5 2 too low 8 
Slider, Gallery, and Carousel by MetaSlider – Image Slider, Video Slider 500K+ · 4.6★ (743)
wp.org #7 ↑1 1 too high 9 
SimpLy Gallery 40K+ · 4.8★ (118)
wp.org #8 ↓3 1 too high 10 
Meow Gallery 10K+ · 4.9★ (203)
wp.org #10 ↓4 11 
Justified Gallery 8K+ · 4.9★ (206)
wp.org #11 ↓1 12 
Photo Gallery by Supsystic – Image Gallery, Masonry, Albums & Lightbox 20K+ · 4.6★ (498)
wp.org #14 ↑2 2 too low 13 
Portfolio Filter Gallery – Photo Gallery 20K+ · 4.8★ (348)
wp.org #15 ↑2 2 too low 14 
Responsive Lightbox & Gallery 100K+ · 4.9★ (2003)
wp.org #21 7 too low 15 
Lightbox for Gallery & Image Block 20K+ · 5.0★ (88)
wp.org #13 2 too high 16 
Gallery Custom Links 30K+ · 4.7★ (208)
wp.org #16 ↓7 17 
Photo Gallery – GT3 Image Gallery & Gutenberg Block Gallery 10K+ · 4.8★ (147) not PHP-current
wp.org #12 5 too high 18 
Gallery Lightbox 10K+ · 4.7★ (106)
wp.org #18 19 
Gallery by BestWebSoft – Customizable Image and Photo Galleries for WordPress 10K+ · 4.0★ (158)
wp.org #22 ↓1 3 too low 20 
Responsive Gallery Grid 4K+ · 4.7★ (66)
wp.org #20 21 
FancyBox for WordPress 30K+ · 4.6★ (92)
wp.org #24 3 too low 22 
Document Gallery 8K+ · 4.8★ (112) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #19 3 too high 23 MetaSlider Gallery – Image Gallery, Lightbox Galleries, Video Galleries 10K+ · 4.4★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #17 ↓3 6 too high 24 
Mosaic Gallery – Advanced Gallery 3K+ · 4.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #23 1 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.