wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wordpress tutorials”
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 tutorials”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 4 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
Broken Link Checker shows at wp.org #9 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 500K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.8★ average from 605 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Internal Link Juicer: SEO Auto Linker for WordPress places #11 on merit, 4.7★ from 537 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625)
wp.org #1 2 
Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups 80K+ · 4.4★ (859)
wp.org #2 3 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #3 4 
WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1916)
wp.org #4 5 
WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228)
wp.org #5 ↑1 6 
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) not PHP-current
wp.org #7 1 too low 7 
The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461)
wp.org #8 1 too low 8 
GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155)
wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too high 9 
Simple Shopping Cart 10K+ · 4.6★ (215)
wp.org #10 1 too low 10 
LightStart – Maintenance Mode, Coming Soon and Landing Page Builder 400K+ · 4.3★ (874)
wp.org #11 ↑2 1 too low 11 Internal Link Juicer: SEO Auto Linker for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (537)
wp.org #16 ↓1 5 too low 12 
wpDataTables – WordPress Data Table, Dynamic Tables & Table Charts Plugin 60K+ · 4.5★ (449)
wp.org #15 ↓1 3 too low 13 
Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) heavy footprint
wp.org #12 ↑5 1 too high 14 
Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519)
wp.org #21 ↓1 7 too low 15 
MalCare WordPress Security Plugin – Malware Scanner, Cleaner, Security Firewall 100K+ · 4.4★ (559)
wp.org #18 3 too low 16 
ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051)
wp.org #22 ↑2 6 too low 17 Broken Link Checker 500K+ · 3.8★ (605) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #9 8 too high 18 
LearnPress – WordPress LMS Plugin for Create and Sell Online Courses 70K+ · 4.3★ (597) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #13 ↓2 5 too high 19 
Notibar – Notification Bar for WordPress 8K+ · 4.8★ (71)
wp.org #20 ↑2 1 too low 20 T Tooltips for WordPress 5K+ · 3.8★ (75)
wp.org #14 ↓2 6 too high 21 
ShopMagic – email automation for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (78)
wp.org #24 ↓3 3 too low 22 
Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157)
wp.org #23 1 too low 23 
Royal WordPress Backup, Restore & Migration Plugin – Backup WordPress Sites Safely 30K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #17 ↓1 6 too high 24 
AR for WordPress 300+ · 4.6★ (10) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #19 5 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.