wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wp core”
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 “wp core”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 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
Core Rollback shows at wp.org #10 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 20K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.7★ average from 16 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security places #11 on merit, 4.7★ from 5040 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.
WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209)
wp.org #1 2 
WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4229)
wp.org #2 ↑8 3 
UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8708)
wp.org #3 ↓1 4 
All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676)
wp.org #4 ↑4 5 
WP Downgrade | Specific Core Version 100K+ · 4.8★ (169)
wp.org #5 ↓2 6 
Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517)
wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too low 7 
WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346)
wp.org #6 ↑3 1 too high 8 
WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617)
wp.org #8 ↓1 9 
WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (758)
wp.org #9 ↑12 10 
WP Activity Log 300K+ · 4.7★ (490)
wp.org #13 ↓2 3 too low 11 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5040)
wp.org #17 ↓3 6 too low 12 
WP Accessibility 60K+ · 4.8★ (68)
wp.org #11 ↑9 1 too high 13 
Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN 1M+ · 4.8★ (6053)
wp.org #19 6 too low 14 
WP Crontrol 300K+ · 4.4★ (167)
wp.org #12 ↑1 2 too high 15 
WP Job Manager 70K+ · 4.4★ (237)
wp.org #15 16 
FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410)
wp.org #16 17 
WP Umbrella: Security Backup Restore & Monitoring 90K+ · 4.8★ (81)
wp.org #14 ↑4 3 too high 18 
WP Rollback – Rollback Plugins and Themes 200K+ · 4.9★ (215)
wp.org #20 ↓1 2 too low 19 
Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440)
wp.org #21 2 too low 20 Core Rollback 20K+ · 4.7★ (16) thin reviews
wp.org #10 ↓5 10 too high 21 
WP-PageNavi 400K+ · 4.7★ (149)
wp.org #22 ↓10 1 too low 22 
Index WP MySQL For Speed 50K+ · 4.8★ (99)
wp.org #24 2 too low 23 
WP Consent API 200K+ · 5.0★ (2) host-installed base thin reviews
wp.org #23 24 
Jupiter X Core 70K+ · 1.9★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↑4 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.