wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “yes”

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 “yes”, we and wp.org disagree 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

Advanced Age Verification Popup shows at wp.org #10 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 700+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Quiz Maker by AYS places #6 on merit, 4.9★ from 601 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 signals wp.org

Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) not PHP-current wp.org #2 1 too low 2

Redirection 2M+ · 4.4★ (703) wp.org #4 2 too low 3

List category posts 80K+ · 4.7★ (254) wp.org #5 2 too low 4

Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418) wp.org #7 3 too low 5

WP-DBManager 50K+ · 4.4★ (95) wp.org #6 1 too low 6

Quiz Maker by AYS 20K+ · 4.9★ (601) wp.org #13 7 too low 7

Media File Renamer: Rename Images & Files for SEO (AI-Powered) 40K+ · 4.6★ (447) wp.org #12 5 too low 8 Y Yes/No Chart 2K+ · 4.5★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #1 7 too high 9

CPS | Age Verification 800+ · 4.4★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #3 6 too high 10

PNG to JPG 10K+ · 4.7★ (40) wp.org #9 1 too high 11

E-cab Taxi Booking Manager for Woocommerce 2K+ · 4.9★ (28) wp.org #8 3 too high 12

Filter Everything — WordPress & WooCommerce Filters 50K+ · 4.6★ (154) wp.org #14 ↑1 2 too low 13

MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #11 2 too high 14

CMP – Coming Soon & Maintenance Plugin by NiteoThemes 200K+ · 4.7★ (326) wp.org #20 ↑1 6 too low 15

PixelYourSite – Your smart PIXEL (TAG) & API Manager 400K+ · 4.3★ (281) wp.org #17 2 too low 16

Categories Images 50K+ · 4.5★ (86) wp.org #16 ↓3 17

reCAPTCHA for WooCommerce 40K+ · 4.6★ (76) wp.org #24 ↓2 7 too low 18

Ads.txt Manager 100K+ · 4.7★ (15) thin reviews wp.org #15 ↓1 3 too high 19 N NS Featured Posts 4K+ · 4.8★ (29) wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too low 20

Event Booking Manager for WooCommerce – Sell Tickets, Event Registration, RSVP & Event Calendar 7K+ · 4.5★ (167) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #22 ↑2 2 too low 21

Stock Locations for WooCommerce 800+ · 4.8★ (53) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #19 ↓3 2 too high 22

Pixel Cat – Conversion Pixel Manager 40K+ · 4.0★ (41) wp.org #23 24

Advanced Age Verification Popup 700+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #10 14 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.