wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wordpress post”
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 post”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 3 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
Yoast Duplicate Post shows at wp.org #6 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 3M+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.7★ average from 538 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 #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 14387 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. 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 
Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296)
wp.org #2 3 
Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962)
wp.org #4 1 too low 4 
TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625)
wp.org #5 1 too low 5 
MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #3 2 too high 6 
Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528)
wp.org #7 1 too low 7 
Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588)
wp.org #9 2 too low 8 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too low 9 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #13 ↑1 4 too low 10 
Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups 80K+ · 4.4★ (859)
wp.org #12 ↓1 2 too low 11 
Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1237)
wp.org #15 ↑8 4 too low 12 
WP Popular Posts 100K+ · 4.5★ (249)
wp.org #10 ↓2 2 too high 13 
Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276)
wp.org #8 ↑7 5 too high 14 Yoast Duplicate Post 3M+ · 4.7★ (538) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #6 8 too high 15 
The Post Grid – Shortcode, Gutenberg Blocks and Elementor Addon for Post Grid 100K+ · 4.8★ (265)
wp.org #17 ↓1 2 too low 16 
WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228)
wp.org #21 ↑1 5 too low 17 
Schedule Post Changes With PublishPress Future: Unpublish, Delete, Change Status, Trash, Change Categories 100K+ · 4.5★ (172)
wp.org #16 ↓4 1 too high 18 
Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186)
wp.org #23 5 too low 19 
Ultimate Post Kit – Elementor Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider & Blog Layout Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (58)
wp.org #19 ↓1 20 
Post Duplicator 200K+ · 4.8★ (80)
wp.org #22 ↓2 2 too low 21 
Rate My Post – Star Rating Plugin by FeedbackWP 20K+ · 4.7★ (159) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #18 ↓1 3 too high 22 
WordPress Importer 2M+ · 3.1★ (327)
wp.org #14 ↓1 8 too high 23 
GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155)
wp.org #24 ↓3 1 too low 24 
Wp Post Views – WordPress Post views counter 4K+ · 4.4★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #20 ↓1 4 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.