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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wordpress.com stats”

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.com stats”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Jetpack Stats shows at wp.org #5 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 900+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Imagify Image Optimization: Optimize Images | Compress & Convert to WebP/AVIF places #9 on merit, 4.3★ from 1656 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #1 2 Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 Statify 100K+ · 4.8★ (51) wp.org #3 4 Migrate to WordPress.com 2K+ · 4.7★ (9) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #12 7 too low 6 LifterLMS – WP LMS for eLearning, Online Courses, & Quizzes 10K+ · 4.8★ (393) wp.org #15 9 too low 7 Compact Archives 2K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 OpenStation – Admin Dashboard Notes, Custom Dashboard, AI Assistant & PWA 1K+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #10 2 too low 9 Imagify Image Optimization: Optimize Images | Compress & Convert to WebP/AVIF 900K+ · 4.3★ (1656) wp.org #21 12 too low 10 ReviewX – Multi-Criteria Reviews for WooCommerce with Google Reviews & Schema 6K+ · 4.5★ (85) wp.org #14 4 too low 11 Quick Adsense 20K+ · 3.9★ (74) wp.org #13 2 too low 12 Vireo Analytics – Cookieless WordPress Stats & Google Analytics Alternative 20+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #7 5 too high 13 Jetpack Social 30K+ · 3.3★ (74) wp.org #20 7 too low 14 ConvertNow Analytics: Website Stats, Visitor Statistics, AI Traffic and Bot Filtering 70+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #11 3 too high 15 Kadence Central – Site Management, Backups, Security, and Reporting 30K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #8 7 too high 16 Jetpack Stats 900+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #5 11 too high 17 Crowdsignal Forms 200K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #9 8 too high 18 TrackSure Cloud – Server-Side Tracking, Meta CAPI & GA4 for WooCommerce 70+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #16 2 too high 19 Fleet Agent Site Manager – Securely Connects Your Sites to a WPMgr Dashboard 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 20 Blocks for Bandcamp 300+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 3 too high 21 Serve Markdown 80+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 Omea Analytics — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 Page Visit Counter Analytics – Website Statistics & Google Analytics Alternative for WordPress 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 5 too high 24 ZeroBot Security – Login Protection, Firewall & Bot Blocker — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24

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.