wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wordpress post widget”
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 widget”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 3 of the top 20.
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
Ultimate Post Kit – Elementor Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider & Blog Layout Widgets shows at wp.org #14 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 4 places. Its 30K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.8★ average from 58 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962)
wp.org #1 2 
Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667)
wp.org #2 3 
TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625)
wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 
MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157)
wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too high 5 
Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528)
wp.org #5 6 
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132)
wp.org #6 ↓2 7 
ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051)
wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too low 8 
WP Popular Posts 100K+ · 4.5★ (249)
wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too high 9 
Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588)
wp.org #10 ↑1 1 too low 10 
Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails 100K+ · 4.8★ (215)
wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too high 11 
Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1237)
wp.org #13 ↑7 2 too low 12 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #12 ↓2 13 
Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups 80K+ · 4.4★ (859)
wp.org #11 ↓2 2 too high 14 
Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680)
wp.org #16 ↓3 2 too low 15 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322)
wp.org #15 ↓1 16 
WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228)
wp.org #17 ↑1 1 too low 17 
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #20 ↓3 3 too low 18 Ultimate Post Kit – Elementor Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider & Blog Layout Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (58)
wp.org #14 ↓2 4 too high 19 
Content Blocks (Custom Post Widget) 10K+ · 4.9★ (80)
wp.org #18 ↓3 1 too high 20 
Rate My Post – Star Rating Plugin by FeedbackWP 20K+ · 4.7★ (159)
wp.org #21 ↓2 1 too low 21 
The Post Grid – Shortcode, Gutenberg Blocks and Elementor Addon for Post Grid 100K+ · 4.8★ (265)
wp.org #24 ↓2 3 too low 22 
Widget Context 30K+ · 4.5★ (98)
wp.org #19 ↓3 3 too high 23 
Post Duplicator 200K+ · 4.8★ (80)
wp.org #23 ↓2 24 
Widgets for Social Photo Feed 10K+ · 4.7★ (28)
wp.org #22 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.