wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “work show”
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 “work show”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 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
Show IDs by Echo shows at wp.org #5 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates places #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 1680 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (199)
wp.org #1 2 
Show Current Template 100K+ · 5.0★ (71)
wp.org #2 3 
Show Pages IDs 10K+ · 5.0★ (103)
wp.org #3 ↑1 4 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322)
wp.org #13 9 too low 5 
Show modified Date in admin lists 6K+ · 4.9★ (32)
wp.org #7 2 too low 6 
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281)
wp.org #17 11 too low 7 
Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667)
wp.org #16 ↑8 9 too low 8 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680)
wp.org #20 12 too low 9 
Weaver Show Posts 5K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #4 ↓1 5 too high 10 
Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012)
wp.org #14 4 too low 11 
Show only lowest prices in variable products for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.8★ (28)
wp.org #9 2 too high 12 
Slider, Gallery, and Carousel by MetaSlider – Image Slider, Video Slider 500K+ · 4.6★ (743)
wp.org #19 ↓4 7 too low 13 
Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616)
wp.org #23 ↓2 10 too low 14 
All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231)
wp.org #24 ↓8 10 too low 15 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #21 6 too low 16 
Show Support Ribbon 300+ · 5.0★ (11) thin reviews
wp.org #10 6 too high 17 
Show Pages URL List 1K+ · 4.4★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #8 9 too high 18 
Weaver Show Sliders 900+ · 4.5★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #6 12 too high 19 
Image Source Control Lite – Show Image Credits and Captions 3K+ · 4.6★ (42)
wp.org #22 ↓3 3 too low 20 
WPC Show Single Variations for WooCommerce 1K+ · 3.3★ (11) thin reviews
wp.org #11 9 too high 21 
Show Variations as Single Products for WooCommerce 400+ · 3.1★ (18) thin reviews
wp.org #18 3 too high 22 Show IDs by Echo 2K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #5 17 too high 23 S Show Visitor IP 300+ · 3.6★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #12 11 too high 24 
Show State Field for WooCommerce 90+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #15 ↑2 9 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.