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

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 migration”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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

DreamHost Automated Migration shows at wp.org #14 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 20K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.6★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 4228 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 signals wp.org

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #1 ↑2 2

All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676) wp.org #2 3

UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8708) wp.org #3 ↓2 4

Migrate Guru – Site Migration & Cloning 200K+ · 4.9★ (1645) wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too low 5

WPvivid — Backup, Migration & Staging 900K+ · 4.9★ (1568) wp.org #5 ↑1 6

Backup Migration 80K+ · 4.9★ (1338) wp.org #7 1 too low 7

Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #4 3 too high 8

WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470) wp.org #8 9

WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #16 ↑5 7 too low 10

BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) not PHP-current wp.org #10 ↑1 11

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #13 2 too low 12

Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #17 ↑2 5 too low 13

FastDup – Fastest WordPress Migration & Duplicator 5K+ · 4.6★ (27) wp.org #9 4 too high 14

WP Synchro – The Ultimate WordPress Migration Tool 2K+ · 5.0★ (30) wp.org #12 ↑2 2 too high 15

FG Joomla to WordPress 7K+ · 4.7★ (336) wp.org #23 7 too low 17

1-Click WordPress Migration Plugin – Backup, Migrate & Clone 400+ · 4.5★ (40) wp.org #15 ↓3 2 too high 18

WebToffee WP Backup and Migration 5K+ · 4.5★ (49) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #11 ↓1 7 too high 19

WP Migrate Lite – Migration Made Easy 200K+ · 4.2★ (318) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #20 ↓2 1 too low 20

Cloudways WordPress Migrator 10K+ · 4.2★ (36) wp.org #19 ↓2 1 too high 21

Pressable Automated Migration 4K+ · 5.0★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #18 ↓2 3 too high 22

DreamHost Automated Migration 20K+ · 4.6★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #14 ↓1 8 too high 23

Royal WordPress Backup, Restore & Migration Plugin – Backup WordPress Sites Safely 30K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #22 1 too high 24

Pantheon Migrations 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #24 ↓4

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.