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

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 sitemap”, 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 #11 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 12 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 #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 1267 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #1 ↑2 2 XML Sitemap Generator for Google 1M+ · 4.8★ (2233) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too high 5 XML Sitemap & Google News 100K+ · 4.4★ (85) wp.org #5 6 WP Sitemap Page 200K+ · 4.8★ (205) wp.org #8 ↑1 2 too low 7 Dynamic XML Sitemaps Generator for Google 20K+ · 4.7★ (47) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO 300K+ · 4.8★ (1267) wp.org #17 ↓1 9 too low 9 SureRank SEO – Meta Tags, Social Preview, XML Sitemap, Schema & Open Graph 300K+ · 4.8★ (51) wp.org #9 ↓2 10 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #12 ↑9 2 too low 11 The SEO Framework – Fast, Automated, Effortless. 200K+ · 4.9★ (380) wp.org #15 4 too low 12 Sitemap by BestWebSoft – WordPress XML Site Map Page Generator Plugin 20K+ · 4.3★ (115) wp.org #13 1 too low 13 Simple Sitemap – Responsive HTML Sitemap for WordPress 60K+ · 3.9★ (72) wp.org #10 ↑1 3 too high 14 Simple XML Sitemap Generator 3K+ · 4.6★ (11) wp.org #7 ↑1 7 too high 15 Companion Sitemap Generator – Simple, Smart, and SEO-Ready 6K+ · 4.7★ (55) wp.org #21 ↓1 6 too low 16 HTML Page Sitemap (Block and Shortcode) 10K+ · 4.4★ (24) wp.org #19 ↓1 3 too low 17 Sitemap Generator 3K+ · 3.7★ (23) wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too low 18 Kwayy HTML Sitemap 6K+ · 4.7★ (18) wp.org #18 ↓1 19 Disable WP Sitemaps 10K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #24 ↓1 5 too low 20 Whitespace Fixer for XML Sitemap 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #14 6 too high 21 SiteSEO – SEO Simplified 400K+ · 4.0★ (8) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 Image & Video XML Sitemap 300+ · 4.0★ (3) wp.org #16 ↓1 6 too high 23 XML Sitemaps Manager 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 ↑1 12 too high 24 WP Sitemap Pages and Posts 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↓1 1 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.