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

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 plug in”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

VK All in One Expansion Unit shows at wp.org #5 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 100K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Hummingbird Performance – Cache & Page Speed Optimization for Core Web Vitals | Critical CSS | Minify CSS | Defer CSS Javascript | CDN places #7 on merit, 4.7★ from 1488 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #1 2 AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #4 5 Koko Analytics – Privacy-Friendly WordPress Analytics 70K+ · 5.0★ (245) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too low 6 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #10 ↑4 4 too low 7 Hummingbird Performance – Cache & Page Speed Optimization for Core Web Vitals | Critical CSS | Minify CSS | Defer CSS Javascript | CDN 70K+ · 4.7★ (1488) wp.org #14 ↓2 7 too low 8 Safelayout Cute Preloader – CSS3 WordPress Preloader 10K+ · 5.0★ (84) wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too low 9 Mailgun for WordPress 80K+ · 3.8★ (49) wp.org #6 ↓1 3 too high 10 WP Accessibility 60K+ · 4.8★ (68) wp.org #11 ↓1 1 too low 11 FunnelKit Automations – Email Marketing Automation and CRM for WordPress & WooCommerce 20K+ · 5.0★ (346) wp.org #18 ↓1 7 too low 12 T Tooltips for WordPress 5K+ · 3.8★ (75) wp.org #8 ↓1 4 too high 13 Cloudinary – Deliver Images and Videos at Scale 5K+ · 4.0★ (64) wp.org #12 ↓1 1 too high 14 SMTP2GO for WordPress – Email Made Easy 40K+ · 5.0★ (67) wp.org #20 ↓2 6 too low 15 Category Posts in Custom Menu 2K+ · 4.8★ (43) wp.org #15 ↓2 16 Event Organiser 20K+ · 4.6★ (140) wp.org #24 8 too low 17 WindPress – Tailwind CSS integration for WordPress 3K+ · 5.0★ (37) wp.org #17 ↓1 18 VK All in One Expansion Unit 100K+ · 4.0★ (7) wp.org #5 ↓1 13 too high 19 Chatbot for WordPress by Collect.chat ⚡️ 6K+ · 4.4★ (38) wp.org #21 ↓2 2 too low 20 Cincopa video and media plug-in 1K+ · 2.8★ (26) wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too high 21 L Login rebuilder 20K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #22 ↓2 1 too low 22 WSP MCP – Free MCP Plugin for WordPress: Connect Claude, ChatGPT & AI Agents 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #19 3 too high 23 Enable Drag and Drop on Adding Plugin Upload 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 ↓4 10 too high 24 In3 On-site Messaging plug-in for WooCommerce 200+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓2 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.