wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wp theme manager”
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 theme manager”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 3 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
FAZ Cookie Manager shows at wp.org #16 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 30 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 
File Manager 1M+ · 4.6★ (1492)
wp.org #2 3 
GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155)
wp.org #3 ↑1 4 
Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) not PHP-current
wp.org #4 ↓1 5 
WP Job Manager 70K+ · 4.4★ (237)
wp.org #5 6 
Advanced File Manager – Ultimate File Manager for WordPress And Document Library Solution 100K+ · 4.8★ (441)
wp.org #7 ↑1 1 too low 7 
WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312)
wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too low 8 
WP Event Manager – Events Calendar, Registrations, Sell Tickets with WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.0★ (249)
wp.org #6 2 too high 9 
Download Manager 100K+ · 4.1★ (1006)
wp.org #9 10 
Easy Updates Manager 300K+ · 4.8★ (726)
wp.org #10 11 
Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1463) not PHP-current
wp.org #12 1 too low 12 
Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1668)
wp.org #13 ↑4 1 too low 13 
Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433)
wp.org #21 8 too low 14 
WP User Manager – Registration Form, Login Form, User Profile Builder & Member Directory 10K+ · 4.7★ (350) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #11 3 too high 15 
Permalink Manager Lite 100K+ · 4.8★ (176)
wp.org #15 16 
Header Footer Code Manager 600K+ · 4.9★ (309) not PHP-current
wp.org #14 ↓1 2 too high 17 
FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410)
wp.org #18 ↓2 1 too low 18 
WP Umbrella: Security Backup Restore & Monitoring 90K+ · 4.8★ (81)
wp.org #17 ↓3 1 too high 19 
File Manager Pro – Filester 100K+ · 4.9★ (155)
wp.org #22 3 too low 20 
File Manager 10K+ · 4.3★ (202)
wp.org #23 3 too low 21 
BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) not PHP-current
wp.org #20 ↑1 1 too high 22 FAZ Cookie Manager 3K+ · 5.0★ (30)
wp.org #16 ↑3 6 too high 23 
WP Migrate Lite – Migration Made Easy 200K+ · 4.2★ (318) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #24 ↓4 1 too low 24 
WP Events Manager 30K+ · 2.7★ (13) 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.