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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “xml sitemaps”

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 “xml sitemaps”, we agree with wp.org 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

XML Sitemaps Manager shows at wp.org #7 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 400+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 1267 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 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #1 2 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7520) wp.org #2 3 XML Sitemap Generator for Google 1M+ · 4.8★ (2233) wp.org #3 4 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Dynamic XML Sitemaps Generator for Google 20K+ · 4.7★ (47) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 XML Sitemap & Google News 100K+ · 4.4★ (85) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO 300K+ · 4.8★ (1267) wp.org #13 6 too low 8 WP Sitemap Page 200K+ · 4.8★ (205) wp.org #12 4 too low 9 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #10 ↑7 1 too low 10 SureRank SEO – Meta Tags, Social Preview, XML Sitemap, Schema & Open Graph 300K+ · 4.8★ (51) wp.org #11 ↓2 1 too low 11 Sitemap by BestWebSoft – WordPress XML Site Map Page Generator Plugin 20K+ · 4.3★ (115) wp.org #16 5 too low 12 Disable WP Sitemaps 10K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #8 ↑2 4 too high 13 Slim SEO – AI SEO Plugin, Lightweight, Fast & Automated 70K+ · 4.7★ (136) wp.org #20 ↑3 7 too low 14 Simple Sitemap – Responsive HTML Sitemap for WordPress 60K+ · 3.9★ (72) wp.org #14 15 Simple XML Sitemap Generator 3K+ · 4.6★ (11) wp.org #9 ↑2 6 too high 16 WP Sitemaps Config 700+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #15 1 too high 17 HTML Page Sitemap (Block and Shortcode) 10K+ · 4.4★ (24) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 Sitemap Generator 3K+ · 3.7★ (23) wp.org #22 4 too low 19 Kwayy HTML Sitemap 6K+ · 4.7★ (18) wp.org #21 2 too low 20 WPSSO WP Sitemaps XML with News, Image, and Video Sitemap 400+ · 4.8★ (4) wp.org #18 ↑1 2 too high 21 XML Sitemaps Manager 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 ↑1 14 too high 22 Whitespace Fixer for XML Sitemap 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #17 ↑1 5 too high 23 SiteSEO – SEO Simplified 400K+ · 4.0★ (8) wp.org #23 24 Image & Video XML Sitemap 300+ · 4.0★ (3) 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.