Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 menus”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Remove admin menus by role shows at wp.org #7 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 8K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.4★ average from 14 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 874 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #1 2 User Menus – Nav Menu Visibility 80K+ · 5.0★ (1281) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 C Conditional Menus 60K+ · 4.4★ (71) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Shortcode in Menus 50K+ · 4.7★ (82) wp.org #4 5 Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #6 ↑3 1 too low 6 Menu Icons by Themeisle – Add Icons to Navigation Menus 100K+ · 4.9★ (851) wp.org #9 ↓1 3 too low 7 FG Joomla to WordPress 7K+ · 4.7★ (336) wp.org #11 ↓1 4 too low 8 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #10 ↑1 2 too low 9 AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874) wp.org #16 7 too low 10 WordPress Importer 2M+ · 3.1★ (327) wp.org #5 5 too high 11 Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167) wp.org #13 ↑2 2 too low 12 Max Mega Menu 300K+ · 4.8★ (882) wp.org #17 ↓5 5 too low 13 Translate WordPress – Google Language Translator 100K+ · 4.7★ (620) wp.org #20 7 too low 14 Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes 300K+ · 4.9★ (491) wp.org #19 ↓1 5 too low 15 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #22 ↓3 7 too low 16 Remove admin menus by role 8K+ · 4.4★ (14) wp.org #7 ↓1 9 too high 17 Genesis Simple Menus 2K+ · 4.8★ (11) wp.org #8 ↓1 9 too high 18 Easy MCP AI – Connect Claude to WordPress: MCP Server for ChatGPT & AI Agents 30K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #14 ↑1 4 too high 19 Buttonizer – Floating Menus, Sticky Buttons, & Popup Builder 70K+ · 4.5★ (151) wp.org #18 ↓1 1 too high 20 Iks Menu – WordPress Category Accordion Menu & FAQs 10K+ · 5.0★ (27) wp.org #23 ↓2 3 too low 21 Hide Drafts in Menus 1K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #12 ↓2 9 too high 22 StatCounter – Real Time Visitor Stats, Session Replay & Heatmaps 70K+ · 4.2★ (56) wp.org #24 ↓2 2 too low 23 WPS Menu Exporter 10K+ · 3.7★ (44) wp.org #21 ↓3 2 too high 24 Merge Menus 300+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #15 9 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.