wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wordpress.org”
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.org”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 2 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
AI shows at wp.org #11 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 60K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.2★ average from 10 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 8706 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.
Contact Form 7 10M+ · 4.0★ (2186)
wp.org #1 2 
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5038) heavy footprint
wp.org #2 3 
The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461)
wp.org #3 4 
Theme Check 20K+ · 4.8★ (195)
wp.org #5 1 too low 5 
Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667)
wp.org #6 1 too low 6 
Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) not PHP-current
wp.org #4 2 too high 7 
Classic Editor 8M+ · 4.9★ (1251)
wp.org #7 8 
WP Rollback – Rollback Plugins and Themes 200K+ · 4.9★ (215)
wp.org #9 1 too low 9 
BuddyPress 90K+ · 4.1★ (375)
wp.org #8 1 too high 10 
Two Factor 100K+ · 4.7★ (209)
wp.org #10 11 
WP Armour – Honeypot Anti Spam 400K+ · 5.0★ (1471)
wp.org #14 3 too low 12 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706)
wp.org #16 4 too low 13 
TranslatePress – Translate Multilingual sites with AI Translation 400K+ · 4.7★ (1667)
wp.org #21 8 too low 14 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143)
wp.org #23 9 too low 15 
MC4WP: Mailchimp for WordPress 1M+ · 4.8★ (1497)
wp.org #20 5 too low 16 
Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276)
wp.org #17 1 too low 17 
Plugin Check (PCP) 10K+ · 4.5★ (36)
wp.org #12 5 too high 18 
Secure Custom Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (69) heavy footprint
wp.org #15 3 too high 19 
BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) not PHP-current
wp.org #22 3 too low 20 
Gutenberg 400K+ · 2.1★ (3888)
wp.org #13 7 too high 21 AI 60K+ · 4.2★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #11 10 too high 22 
WordPress Importer 2M+ · 3.1★ (327)
wp.org #18 4 too high 23 
OpenStation – Admin Dashboard Notes, Custom Dashboard, AI Assistant & PWA 1K+ · 5.0★ (23) heavy footprint thin reviews
wp.org #24 1 too low 24 
AI Provider for Anthropic 70K+ · 0.0★ (0) 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.