wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wp review”
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 review”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 6 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 Ultimate Review shows at wp.org #3 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 60K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.4★ average from 17 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
WP Encryption: Easy HTTPS / SSL & Free SSL certificate, HTTPS redirect places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 1146 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667)
wp.org #1 2 
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 #2 3 
Customer Reviews for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (1539)
wp.org #4 1 too low 4 
UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706)
wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5 
WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617)
wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too low 6 
Rich Showcase for Google Reviews 100K+ · 4.9★ (1623)
wp.org #9 ↑2 3 too low 7 
Site Reviews 60K+ · 4.9★ (376)
wp.org #10 ↓1 3 too low 8 
WP Google Review Slider 30K+ · 4.9★ (373) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #7 ↑1 1 too high 9 
WP Content Copy Protection & No Right Click 100K+ · 4.8★ (1138)
wp.org #15 ↑1 6 too low 10 WP Encryption: Easy HTTPS / SSL & Free SSL certificate, HTTPS redirect 50K+ · 4.9★ (1146)
wp.org #18 ↑1 8 too low 11 
WP Review Slider 6K+ · 4.8★ (181) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #8 ↑2 3 too high 12 
WP TripAdvisor Review Slider 8K+ · 4.8★ (135)
wp.org #12 13 
BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) not PHP-current
wp.org #11 ↑2 2 too high 14 W WP Customer Reviews 20K+ · 4.3★ (528)
wp.org #16 ↑1 2 too low 15 
Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) heavy footprint
wp.org #13 ↑10 2 too high 16 
SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO 300K+ · 4.8★ (1267)
wp.org #22 6 too low 17 WP Ultimate Review 60K+ · 3.4★ (17) thin reviewslow rating, top placement
wp.org #3 14 too high 18 
WP Tripadvisor Review Widgets 20K+ · 4.1★ (116)
wp.org #14 ↑1 4 too high 19 
Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall 100K+ · 4.5★ (373)
wp.org #23 4 too low 20 
WP Social Ninja – Embed Social Feeds, User Reviews & Chat Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (71)
wp.org #19 1 too high 21 
Reviews and Rating – Google Reviews 20K+ · 4.9★ (184) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #17 ↓3 4 too high 22 
Widgets for Airbnb Reviews 6K+ · 4.6★ (60)
wp.org #20 2 too high 23 
Schema & Structured Data for WP & AMP 100K+ · 4.5★ (252) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #21 ↓3 2 too high 24 
WP Migrate Lite – Migration Made Easy 200K+ · 4.2★ (318) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #24 ↓4 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.