wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wordpress vote”
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 vote”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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
Hide Admin Bar Based on User Roles – Disable the WordPress Toolbar by Role or Capability shows at wp.org #14 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 20K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.9★ average from 20 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Advanced WordPress Reset – Debug, Recover & Reset WP places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 1233 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.
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #1 ↑1 2 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143)
wp.org #2 ↓1 3 
AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874)
wp.org #3 4 
Customer Reviews for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (1539)
wp.org #4 5 
WP ULike – Like Buttons, Voting & Engagement Analytics 60K+ · 4.8★ (283)
wp.org #7 2 too low 6 
YOP Poll 10K+ · 4.4★ (452)
wp.org #8 ↓2 2 too low 7 
Rate My Post – Star Rating Plugin by FeedbackWP 20K+ · 4.7★ (159) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #5 2 too high 8 
Contest Gallery – Upload & Vote Photos, Media, Sell with PayPal & Stripe 1K+ · 4.4★ (89)
wp.org #6 ↑2 2 too high 9 Advanced WordPress Reset – Debug, Recover & Reset WP 10K+ · 4.9★ (1233)
wp.org #16 ↑1 7 too low 10 
WP-Polls 40K+ · 4.2★ (136)
wp.org #10 11 
WP-PostRatings 20K+ · 4.4★ (178)
wp.org #12 ↑1 1 too low 12 
EWWW Image Optimizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1842)
wp.org #18 ↑2 6 too low 13 
Poll Maker by AYS – Versus Polls, Anonymous Polls, Image Polls 6K+ · 4.4★ (91)
wp.org #11 ↑1 2 too high 14 
kk Star Ratings – Rate Post & Collect User Feedbacks 70K+ · 3.9★ (171)
wp.org #13 ↑1 1 too high 15 
Flexible PDF Invoices for WooCommerce & WordPress 6K+ · 4.4★ (37)
wp.org #9 6 too high 16 
The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461)
wp.org #21 5 too low 17 
WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #19 2 too low 18 
Awesome Support – WordPress HelpDesk & Support Plugin 6K+ · 3.5★ (194) not PHP-current
wp.org #15 ↑1 3 too high 19 
TS Poll – Survey, Versus Poll, Image Poll, Video Poll 3K+ · 4.7★ (235) not PHP-current
wp.org #24 5 too low 20 
Democracy Poll 6K+ · 4.6★ (86)
wp.org #22 ↑1 2 too low 21 
Edwiser Bridge – WordPress Moodle Integration 4K+ · 4.5★ (82) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #17 ↑1 4 too high 22 Hide Admin Bar Based on User Roles – Disable the WordPress Toolbar by Role or Capability 20K+ · 3.9★ (20) thin reviews
wp.org #14 ↑1 8 too high 23 
Crowdsignal Dashboard – Polls, Surveys & more 200K+ · 2.7★ (34)
wp.org #20 ↑2 3 too high 24 
Rate Star Review Vote – AJAX Reviews, Votes, Star Ratings 30+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #23 1 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.