wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wordpress plugin”
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 plugin”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 5 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
Download Plugin shows at wp.org #16 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 60K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.5★ average from 27 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 14387 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. 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 
UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706)
wp.org #2 ↑1 3 
Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962)
wp.org #3 ↑2 4 
Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667)
wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 
BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) not PHP-current
wp.org #4 ↑3 1 too high 6 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143)
wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too low 7 
WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228)
wp.org #8 ↑2 1 too low 8 
TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625)
wp.org #10 ↑2 2 too low 9 
MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #6 ↓4 3 too high 10 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #15 ↓4 5 too low 11 
Business Directory Plugin – Easy Listing & Member Directories for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (504)
wp.org #14 ↑4 3 too low 12 
GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155)
wp.org #9 ↓1 3 too high 13 
Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167)
wp.org #13 ↑2 14 
Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #11 ↓2 3 too high 15 
Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups 80K+ · 4.4★ (859)
wp.org #18 ↓1 3 too low 16 
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281)
wp.org #23 7 too low 17 
Patchstack – WordPress & Plugins Security 100K+ · 4.9★ (61) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #12 ↑1 5 too high 18 
All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #24 ↓3 6 too low 19 
The WP Remote WordPress Plugin 30K+ · 4.6★ (74)
wp.org #20 ↑2 1 too low 20 
Payment Plugins for Stripe WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.8★ (303) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #19 1 too high 21 
Lightbox & Modal Popup WordPress Plugin – FooBox 100K+ · 3.9★ (95)
wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too high 22 
YaMaps for WordPress Plugin 10K+ · 4.8★ (40)
wp.org #21 1 too high 23 Download Plugin 60K+ · 4.5★ (27)
wp.org #16 ↓2 7 too high 24 
WordPress Importer 2M+ · 3.1★ (327)
wp.org #22 ↑1 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.