wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wp user”
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 user”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20. 2 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 User Avatars shows at wp.org #13 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 20K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.5★ average from 29 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor places #8 on merit, 4.7★ from 738 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 2 
WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470)
wp.org #2 3 
UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8708)
wp.org #3 ↑1 4 
WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228)
wp.org #4 ↑3 5 
WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617)
wp.org #5 ↓2 6 
All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676)
wp.org #6 ↑4 7 
WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346)
wp.org #7 ↑7 8 User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738)
wp.org #14 ↑1 6 too low 9 
User Role Editor 700K+ · 4.5★ (288)
wp.org #9 ↓1 10 
WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (758)
wp.org #10 11 
WP User Manager – Registration Form, Login Form, User Profile Builder & Member Directory 10K+ · 4.7★ (350) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #8 ↓3 3 too high 12 
User Switching 200K+ · 4.9★ (238)
wp.org #12 ↓1 13 
WP 2FA – Two-factor authentication for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (184)
wp.org #11 2 too high 14 
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281)
wp.org #18 ↑1 4 too low 15 
User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (832)
wp.org #19 ↓7 4 too low 16 
WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312)
wp.org #17 ↑1 1 too low 17 
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #20 ↓4 3 too low 18 
Smart User Slug Hider 2K+ · 4.9★ (55)
wp.org #16 2 too high 19 
User Frontend – Membership, User Registration, User Profile, User Directory & Content Restriction with Frontend Post Submission 20K+ · 4.1★ (537) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #15 ↑2 4 too high 20 WP User Avatars 20K+ · 4.5★ (29)
wp.org #13 7 too high 21 
WP Accessibility 60K+ · 4.8★ (68)
wp.org #22 1 too low 22 
WP Crontrol 300K+ · 4.4★ (167)
wp.org #24 ↓2 2 too low 23 
One User Avatar | User Profile Picture 100K+ · 4.7★ (41)
wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too high 24 S Simple Membership WP user Import 4K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #23 1 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.