wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “youtube embed”
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 embed”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20.
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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.
Ranked above its merit
Embed Optimizer shows at wp.org #8 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 50K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
DearFlip – PDF Flipbook, 3D Flipbook, PDF embed, PDF viewer places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 194 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Embed Plus for YouTube Gallery, Livestream and Lazy Loading with Facades 100K+ · 4.6★ (572)
wp.org #1 2 
Video Gallery – YouTube Playlist, Channel Gallery by YotuWP 10K+ · 4.7★ (322)
wp.org #3 1 too low 3 
Feeds for YouTube (YouTube video, channel, and gallery plugin) 100K+ · 4.8★ (205)
wp.org #6 3 too low 4 
Simple YouTube Embed 4K+ · 4.2★ (15) thin reviews
wp.org #2 2 too high 5 
WP YouTube Lyte 20K+ · 4.8★ (206)
wp.org #7 2 too low 6 
Automatic YouTube Gallery – Embed Auto-Updating YouTube Video Galleries, Feeds, Playlists & Channels 9K+ · 4.8★ (31)
wp.org #4 2 too high 7 
Embed YouTube Block – Fast Loading Videos, Shorts & Playlists 6K+ · 5.0★ (16) thin reviews
wp.org #5 2 too high 8 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322)
wp.org #17 ↑6 9 too low 9 
Embed Privacy 10K+ · 4.9★ (26)
wp.org #10 ↓2 1 too low 10 
Video Gallery – YouTube Gallery, Playlist & Video Grid 2K+ · 4.9★ (128)
wp.org #20 ↑1 10 too low 11 DearFlip – PDF Flipbook, 3D Flipbook, PDF embed, PDF viewer 200K+ · 4.9★ (194)
wp.org #23 ↓6 12 too low 12 
Video Player for YouTube – Embed Videos Your Visitors Will Love to Watch 1K+ · 4.8★ (12) thin reviews
wp.org #9 ↑2 3 too high 13 
Advanced Responsive Video Embedder for Rumble, Odysee, YouTube, Vimeo, Kick … 20K+ · 4.2★ (169)
wp.org #24 11 too low 14 
Pdf Embed 10K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #12 2 too high 15 
StreamWeasels YouTube Integration 1K+ · 5.0★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #15 16 
Embeds for YouTube 9K+ · 4.2★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #19 3 too low 17 
Lite Video Embed 1K+ · 4.6★ (11) thin reviews
wp.org #16 1 too high 18 
Wonder Video Embed 4K+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #11 7 too high 19 
Simple YouTube Responsive 3K+ · 5.0★ (12) thin reviews
wp.org #22 3 too low 20 
YEP: Optimize YouTube Embeds 70+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #14 6 too high 21 
DSGVO Youtube 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↑2 3 too high 22 
Video Playlist for YouTube 1K+ · 4.7★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↑3 1 too high 23 Embed Optimizer 50K+ · 3.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #8 ↑2 15 too high 24 
Faster YouTube Embed 100+ · 4.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #13 11 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.