wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wordpress version number”
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 version number”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 5 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
Custom Order Numbers for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #14 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 20K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.2★ average from 25 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 8709 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962)
wp.org #1 2 
MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157)
wp.org #2 3 
TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625)
wp.org #3 4 
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5040)
wp.org #4 5 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #5 6 
Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups 80K+ · 4.4★ (859)
wp.org #6 7 
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #8 1 too low 8 
BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323)
wp.org #7 1 too high 9 
Beaver Builder Page Builder – Drag and Drop Website Builder 100K+ · 4.7★ (394)
wp.org #9 10 
WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4229)
wp.org #10 ↑1 11 
Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186)
wp.org #11 ↑2 12 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8709)
wp.org #17 ↓2 5 too low 13 
Sequential Order Number for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.9★ (146)
wp.org #12 1 too high 14 
AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874)
wp.org #19 5 too low 15 
Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167)
wp.org #15 ↑3 16 
GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155)
wp.org #13 ↓3 3 too high 17 
FancyBox for WordPress 30K+ · 4.6★ (92)
wp.org #16 1 too high 18 
WP Downgrade | Specific Core Version 100K+ · 4.8★ (169)
wp.org #23 5 too low 19 
Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses and Phone Numbers 90K+ · 4.9★ (94)
wp.org #22 ↓1 3 too low 20 
OTP Login With Phone Number, OTP Verification 1K+ · 4.9★ (81)
wp.org #20 ↓1 21 Custom Order Numbers for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.2★ (25)
wp.org #14 7 too high 22 
A Random Number 700+ · 3.7★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #24 2 too low 23 
Animated Number Counters 2K+ · 3.4★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too high 24 
Manage/Remove version number from CSS & JS 100+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↓1 6 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.