wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wpms”

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 “wpms”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20.

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

Article Read Time shows at wp.org #5 but places #10 on merit, a gap of 5 places. Its 30+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk places #3 on merit, 4.8★ from 3220 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

WP Multilang – Translation and Multilingual Plugin 10K+ · 4.3★ (100) wp.org #1 2 W WP Customer Reviews 20K+ · 4.3★ (528) wp.org #2 3

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #19 16 too low 4

Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #16 ↑2 12 too low 5

Auto Copyright Year Updater 4K+ · 5.0★ (10) closure risk thin reviewsstale but ranked wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too low 6

DiluxOne Multisite User Sync 10+ · 4.6★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #6 ↓1 7

Sam Reading Time 70+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #3 4 too high 8 G Graceful Extra 200+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviewslow rating, top placement wp.org #4 4 too high 9

Reading Time & Word Count Block for Post 10+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #10 1 too low 10

Article Read Time 30+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviewslow rating, top placement wp.org #5 ↑2 5 too high 11

Sprinix Typing Test 10+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #9 2 too high 12

Reading Time Block 30+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #8 4 too high 13

Blog Post Reading Time 100+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #11 2 too high 14

Ada WPMS Sitewide Feed 10+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #12 2 too high 15

ReadJoy – Progress Bar with Celebrations — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #13 2 too high 16

FlowRead – Smart Reading Experience for Websites 30+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #14 ↑1 2 too high 17

RavyCode Typing Speed Test 10+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #15 ↓1 2 too high 18 T Tlabe Reading Time Estimator — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #18 ↓1 19

Optic Read-O-Meter — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #20 1 too low 20

ReadJutsu – Reading Time & Scroll Progress Bar — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #21 1 too low 21

Nuvora Reading Time & Progress Bar — · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too high 22

Reading Tools: Word Count & View Counter with Accessibility Tools — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #22 23

DIG Local SEO & AI Post Booster — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #23 24

ReadMarker — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #24

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.