wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wp result plugin”
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 result plugin”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 2 of the top 20. 3 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
WP Plugin Manager – Deactivate plugins per page shows at wp.org #18 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.4★ average from 23 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706)
wp.org #1 2 
Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667)
wp.org #2 3 
WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470)
wp.org #3 4 
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 #4 ↓2 5 
WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228)
wp.org #5 ↓1 6 
All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676)
wp.org #7 ↓2 1 too low 7 
WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346)
wp.org #6 ↑2 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 Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312)
wp.org #9 10 
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281)
wp.org #11 1 too low 11 
WP Rollback – Rollback Plugins and Themes 200K+ · 4.9★ (215)
wp.org #10 1 too high 12 
Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397)
wp.org #13 ↑2 1 too low 13 
WP-Members Membership Plugin 50K+ · 4.6★ (272)
wp.org #12 ↓1 1 too high 14 
WP Content Copy Protection & No Right Click 100K+ · 4.8★ (1138)
wp.org #17 ↓1 3 too low 15 
Business Directory Plugin – Easy Listing & Member Directories for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (504)
wp.org #15 ↓1 16 
WP Activity Log 300K+ · 4.7★ (490)
wp.org #14 ↓2 2 too high 17 
WP Reset 300K+ · 4.8★ (1014)
wp.org #19 ↓1 2 too low 18 
All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #16 ↓3 2 too high 19 
Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616)
wp.org #22 ↑1 3 too low 20 
Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641)
wp.org #20 ↓1 21 
Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) heavy footprint
wp.org #24 3 too low 22 
WP-Polls 40K+ · 4.2★ (136)
wp.org #23 ↓2 1 too low 23 
WP Maps – Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, Mapbox, Store Locator with Search, Filters & Listings 60K+ · 4.3★ (122) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too high 24 WP Plugin Manager – Deactivate plugins per page 3K+ · 4.4★ (23) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↓1 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.