wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wp users”
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 users”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 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
Index WP Users For Speed shows at wp.org #19 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 5 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
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★ (8706)
wp.org #3 4 
Import and export users and customers 70K+ · 4.7★ (259)
wp.org #4 5 
WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617)
wp.org #5 ↑3 6 
All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676)
wp.org #6 ↓1 7 
WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228)
wp.org #8 ↓2 1 too low 8 
WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346)
wp.org #7 ↑2 1 too high 9 
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281)
wp.org #11 ↑5 2 too low 10 
WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (758)
wp.org #9 ↑1 1 too high 11 
WP 2FA – Two-factor authentication for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (184)
wp.org #10 ↑1 1 too high 12 
User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738)
wp.org #14 2 too low 13 
WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312)
wp.org #13 ↑4 14 
WP Activity Log 300K+ · 4.7★ (490)
wp.org #16 ↓1 2 too low 15 
WP Reset 300K+ · 4.8★ (1014)
wp.org #20 ↑2 5 too low 16 
Export and Import Users and Customers 50K+ · 4.8★ (442) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #12 ↑1 4 too high 17 
Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN 1M+ · 4.8★ (6053)
wp.org #24 ↓3 7 too low 18 
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #23 ↓3 5 too low 19 
WP Accessibility 60K+ · 4.8★ (68)
wp.org #15 ↑8 4 too high 20 
WP Crontrol 300K+ · 4.4★ (167)
wp.org #17 ↑1 3 too high 21 
Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) heavy footprint
wp.org #21 22 
WP User Avatars 20K+ · 4.5★ (29)
wp.org #18 ↑1 4 too high 23 
WP Remote Users Sync 6K+ · 4.9★ (73) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #22 1 too high 24 Index WP Users For Speed 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #19 ↓7 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.