wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wp like”
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 like”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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
WP Accessibility shows at wp.org #12 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 5 places. Its 60K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.8★ average from 68 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
WP Reset places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 1014 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. 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 ↑1 2 
WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470)
wp.org #2 ↑1 3 
WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617)
wp.org #3 ↑2 4 
WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228)
wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 
UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706)
wp.org #6 1 too low 6 
WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346)
wp.org #4 ↑2 2 too high 7 
WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312)
wp.org #8 ↑2 1 too low 8 
WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (758)
wp.org #7 1 too high 9 
WP ULike – Like Buttons, Voting & Engagement Analytics 60K+ · 4.8★ (283)
wp.org #9 ↓1 10 WP Reset 300K+ · 4.8★ (1014)
wp.org #14 ↑2 4 too low 11 
WP Activity Log 300K+ · 4.7★ (490)
wp.org #13 ↓2 2 too low 12 
Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN 1M+ · 4.8★ (6053)
wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too low 13 
Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) heavy footprint
wp.org #10 3 too high 14 
WP Crontrol 300K+ · 4.4★ (167)
wp.org #11 ↑1 3 too high 15 
WP Mail Logging 300K+ · 4.7★ (375)
wp.org #15 ↑2 16 
WP Content Copy Protection & No Right Click 100K+ · 4.8★ (1138)
wp.org #20 ↑1 4 too low 17 WP Accessibility 60K+ · 4.8★ (68)
wp.org #12 ↑7 5 too high 18 
WP Rollback – Rollback Plugins and Themes 200K+ · 4.9★ (215)
wp.org #17 ↓4 1 too high 19 
FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410)
wp.org #18 1 too high 20 
WP-PageNavi 400K+ · 4.7★ (149)
wp.org #21 ↓12 1 too low 21 
WP Umbrella: Security Backup Restore & Monitoring 90K+ · 4.8★ (81)
wp.org #22 ↑1 1 too low 22 W WP Photo Album Plus 10K+ · 4.7★ (199) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #24 2 too low 23 
Comments Like Dislike 4K+ · 4.6★ (38)
wp.org #23 ↓1 24 
Posts Like Dislike 5K+ · 4.3★ (23) thin reviews
wp.org #19 ↑1 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.