wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “youtube”
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 “youtube”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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
DSGVO Youtube shows at wp.org #9 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 4132 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Feeds for YouTube (YouTube video, channel, and gallery plugin) 100K+ · 4.8★ (205)
wp.org #1 2 
Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519)
wp.org #2 ↑3 3 
Embed Plus for YouTube Gallery, Livestream and Lazy Loading with Facades 100K+ · 4.6★ (572)
wp.org #3 ↓1 4 
WP YouTube Lyte 20K+ · 4.8★ (206)
wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5 
Video Gallery – YouTube Playlist, Channel Gallery by YotuWP 10K+ · 4.7★ (322)
wp.org #6 ↓2 1 too low 6 
Automatic YouTube Gallery – Embed Auto-Updating YouTube Video Galleries, Feeds, Playlists & Channels 9K+ · 4.8★ (31)
wp.org #4 ↓1 2 too high 7 
Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962)
wp.org #10 ↑2 3 too low 8 
Slider, Gallery, and Carousel by MetaSlider – Image Slider, Video Slider 500K+ · 4.6★ (742)
wp.org #13 ↑3 5 too low 9 
Video Gallery – YouTube Gallery, Playlist & Video Grid 2K+ · 4.9★ (128)
wp.org #12 ↓1 3 too low 10 
RSS Aggregator by Feedzy – Feed to Post, Autoblogging, News & YouTube Video Feeds Aggregator 40K+ · 4.6★ (361)
wp.org #16 ↑2 6 too low 11 
Embed YouTube Block – Fast Loading Videos, Shorts & Playlists 6K+ · 5.0★ (16) thin reviews
wp.org #7 4 too high 12 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) not PHP-current
wp.org #19 ↑1 7 too low 13 
The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461)
wp.org #23 10 too low 14 
All-in-One Video Gallery – Video Player & Galleries for YouTube, Vimeo & Self-Hosted Videos 20K+ · 4.8★ (136)
wp.org #21 ↑1 7 too low 15 
Advanced Responsive Video Embedder for Rumble, Odysee, YouTube, Vimeo, Kick … 20K+ · 4.2★ (169)
wp.org #20 ↑1 5 too low 16 
Simple YouTube Embed 4K+ · 4.2★ (15) thin reviews
wp.org #8 8 too high 17 
Video Popup – Video Lightbox for YouTube, Vimeo & MP4 10K+ · 4.5★ (43)
wp.org #22 ↑1 5 too low 18 DSGVO Youtube 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #9 9 too high 19 
Simple YouTube Responsive 3K+ · 5.0★ (12) thin reviews
wp.org #15 ↑2 4 too high 20 
StreamWeasels YouTube Integration 1K+ · 5.0★ (9) not PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #11 ↓1 9 too high 21 
Playlist Player for YouTube – Fast, Privacy-Friendly Playlists & Channel Feed 1K+ · 4.8★ (13) thin reviews
wp.org #17 ↓2 4 too high 22 
WP Video Popup – WordPress Video Lightbox for YouTube, Rumble & Vimeo 9K+ · 4.1★ (43)
wp.org #24 2 too low 23 
Video Playlist for YouTube 1K+ · 4.7★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #14 9 too high 24 
Video Popup Block – YouTube, Vimeo, TikTok Lightbox by WPZOOM 10K+ · 4.7★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↑1 6 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.