wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wpmu”
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 “wpmu”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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
Beehive Analytics – Google Analytics Dashboard shows at wp.org #7 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 20K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.5★ average from 13 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 4514 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143)
wp.org #1 2 
Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN 1M+ · 4.8★ (6053)
wp.org #2 ↑1 3 
Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups 80K+ · 4.4★ (859)
wp.org #4 1 too low 4 
Hummingbird Performance – Cache & Page Speed Optimization for Core Web Vitals | Critical CSS | Minify CSS | Defer CSS Javascript | CDN 70K+ · 4.7★ (1488)
wp.org #6 2 too low 5 
Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall 80K+ · 4.8★ (334)
wp.org #5 6 
Broken Link Checker 500K+ · 3.8★ (605) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #3 ↓1 3 too high 7 
SmartCrawl SEO checker, analyzer & optimizer 10K+ · 4.8★ (171)
wp.org #8 1 too low 8 
Smart Slider 3 800K+ · 4.9★ (1125)
wp.org #10 ↑3 2 too low 9 
Admin Menu Editor 300K+ · 4.6★ (312)
wp.org #9 10 Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder 600K+ · 4.9★ (4514)
wp.org #16 6 too low 11 
Htaccess File Editor – Safely Edit Htaccess File 40K+ · 5.0★ (102)
wp.org #11 12 
Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807)
wp.org #15 3 too low 13 W WP Customer Reviews 20K+ · 4.3★ (528)
wp.org #17 4 too low 14 
Ajax Search Lite – Live Search & Filter 70K+ · 4.8★ (266)
wp.org #18 ↑1 4 too low 15 Beehive Analytics – Google Analytics Dashboard 20K+ · 4.5★ (13) thin reviews
wp.org #7 8 too high 16 
External Links – nofollow, noopener & new window 90K+ · 4.3★ (247) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #12 ↓2 4 too high 17 
Tickera – Sell Tickets & Manage Events 2K+ · 4.5★ (292)
wp.org #21 4 too low 18 
Author Avatars List/Block 4K+ · 4.8★ (32)
wp.org #14 4 too high 19 
Branda – White Label & Branding, Free Login Page Customizer 10K+ · 4.5★ (30)
wp.org #13 ↓1 6 too high 20 
Security Ninja – WordPress Security & Firewall 7K+ · 4.7★ (101)
wp.org #22 ↑1 2 too low 21 
Ultimate Multisite – WordPress Multisite SaaS & WaaS Platform 90+ · 5.0★ (11) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #20 1 too high 22 
Dynamic Product Gallery for WooCommerce 1K+ · 3.1★ (37)
wp.org #24 2 too low 23 
GSheetConnector – Forminator Google Sheets Connector, Export Forminator Submissions 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #23 ↓1 24 W WPMU Ldap Authentication 50+ · 4.3★ (3) 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.