Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “x widget”

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 “x widget”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Jupiter X Core shows at wp.org #17 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 70K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 1.9★ average from 9 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy places #8 on merit, 5.0★ from 4625 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #1 2 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #4 ↓1 5 Custom Twitter Feeds – A Tweets Widget or X Feed Widget 100K+ · 4.8★ (401) wp.org #5 ↓1 6 Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails 100K+ · 4.8★ (215) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too low 7 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #10 ↑2 3 too low 8 TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625) wp.org #13 ↓2 5 too low 9 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #9 ↓1 10 Widget Context 30K+ · 4.5★ (98) wp.org #6 ↓1 4 too high 11 Black Studio TinyMCE Widget 200K+ · 4.8★ (191) wp.org #12 ↓2 1 too low 12 Widgets for Social Photo Feed 10K+ · 4.7★ (28) wp.org #7 ↓1 5 too high 13 Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty 300K+ · 5.0★ (1244) wp.org #22 ↓2 9 too low 14 WPZOOM Connect: Social Icons Widget & Block, Share Buttons & Click to Chat 90K+ · 4.9★ (144) wp.org #19 5 too low 15 SiteOrigin Widgets Bundle 400K+ · 4.9★ (134) wp.org #18 ↓1 3 too low 16 Tagembed: Social Media Feeds and Customer Reviews Widget 9K+ · 3.9★ (62) wp.org #11 ↓2 5 too high 17 Coupon X – Discount Popups, Promo Codes Pop Ups for WooCommerce & Announcement Popups 1K+ · 4.9★ (52) wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too high 18 Contact Form X 300+ · 5.0★ (32) wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too high 19 Void Contact Form 7 Widget For Elementor Page Builder 10K+ · 4.9★ (103) wp.org #23 ↓2 4 too low 20 Buttonizer – Social Media Share Buttons, Social Icons, & Social Feeds 40K+ · 4.8★ (396) wp.org #24 ↓2 4 too low 21 Portfolio X 100+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #15 ↓1 6 too high 22 Astra Widgets 200K+ · 3.9★ (17) wp.org #21 ↓2 1 too high 23 ThemeZee Widget Bundle 5K+ · 4.8★ (4) wp.org #20 ↓2 3 too high 24 Jupiter X Core 70K+ · 1.9★ (9) wp.org #17 ↓1 7 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.