wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “write post”
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 “write post”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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
Duplicate Post – duplicate pages, copy content, clone posts shows at wp.org #8 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 5K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.7★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 27821 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528)
wp.org #2 ↓1 1 too low 2 
Yoast Duplicate Post 3M+ · 4.7★ (538) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #1 ↑1 1 too high 3 
Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (587)
wp.org #3 4 
TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625)
wp.org #4 5 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #5 ↑8 6 
Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519)
wp.org #9 ↓2 3 too low 7 
Ultimate Post Kit – Elementor Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider & Blog Layout Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (58)
wp.org #6 1 too high 8 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821)
wp.org #15 ↑2 7 too low 9 
AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874)
wp.org #16 ↑6 7 too low 10 
Post Grid 30K+ · 4.3★ (163)
wp.org #10 ↓2 11 
All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #12 ↓3 1 too low 12 
W4 Post List 3K+ · 4.7★ (94)
wp.org #11 ↓1 1 too high 13 
Table of Contents Plus – Automatic Table of Contents for Posts & Pages 200K+ · 4.5★ (187)
wp.org #14 ↑1 1 too low 14 
Post and Page Builder by BoldGrid – Visual Drag and Drop Editor 50K+ · 4.7★ (140)
wp.org #20 6 too low 15 
Content Blocks (Custom Post Widget) 10K+ · 4.9★ (80)
wp.org #19 ↓3 4 too low 16 
WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (195)
wp.org #24 ↓3 8 too low 17 
Related Posts By PickPlugins 3K+ · 4.6★ (39)
wp.org #18 ↓4 1 too low 18 
MB Custom Post Types & Custom Taxonomies 10K+ · 4.7★ (13) thin reviews
wp.org #13 ↓2 5 too high 19 
Git it Write – Write posts from GitHub 100+ · 4.7★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #7 ↓2 12 too high 20 
Latest Post Shortcode 4K+ · 4.8★ (46)
wp.org #23 ↓5 3 too low 21 Duplicate Post – duplicate pages, copy content, clone posts 5K+ · 4.7★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #8 13 too high 22 
Post Pay Counter 1K+ · 4.8★ (46) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #22 ↓3 23 
Menu In Post 2K+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #17 ↓5 6 too high 24 
Social Post Flow – Social Media Automation, Scheduling, Scheduler, Posting & Auto Post 200+ · 4.2★ (10) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #21 3 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.