wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wordpress speed”
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 speed”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 4 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
Speed Contact Bar shows at wp.org #16 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 4K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.6★ average from 56 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012)
wp.org #1 ↑2 2 
MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157)
wp.org #2 3 
Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962)
wp.org #3 ↑2 4 
Index WP MySQL For Speed 50K+ · 4.8★ (99)
wp.org #4 ↑3 5 
10Web Booster – Website speed optimization, Cache & Page Speed optimizer 60K+ · 4.6★ (405)
wp.org #6 1 too low 6 
WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4229)
wp.org #7 ↑3 1 too low 7 
Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641)
wp.org #5 ↓1 2 too high 8 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #9 1 too low 9 
WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617)
wp.org #8 1 too high 10 
Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517)
wp.org #10 ↑2 11 
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #13 ↑1 2 too low 12 
Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups 80K+ · 4.4★ (859)
wp.org #12 ↓1 13 
Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN 1M+ · 4.8★ (6053)
wp.org #14 ↑8 1 too low 14 
BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323)
wp.org #11 ↑2 3 too high 15 
Jetpack Boost – Website Speed, Performance and Critical CSS 200K+ · 4.7★ (612)
wp.org #15 ↑6 16 
Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205)
wp.org #19 3 too low 17 
WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833)
wp.org #22 ↓3 5 too low 18 
WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1917)
wp.org #24 ↓4 6 too low 19 
Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186)
wp.org #21 2 too low 20 
FancyBox for WordPress 30K+ · 4.6★ (92)
wp.org #18 2 too high 21 
Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167)
wp.org #23 2 too low 22 
Disable All WordPress Updates 20K+ · 4.8★ (69)
wp.org #20 ↑3 2 too high 23 Speed Contact Bar 4K+ · 4.6★ (56)
wp.org #16 7 too high 24 
WPSpeed – WordPress Speed, Cache & Performance Optimization (Core Web Vitals, PageSpeed 100) 2K+ · 4.9★ (40)
wp.org #17 7 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.