PluginScout

How rankings work

The order comes from WordPress.org, from both of its lists

WordPress.org publishes two orderings for a topic and neither is trustworthy on its own. The tag page is sorted by active installs, so a large plugin that carries the tag loosely sits above the plugins the category is actually about: caching plugins appear under SEO, an opt-in plugin appears under ecommerce. The search results are sorted by relevance and carry their own noise, returning plugins that merely mention the word.

So a plugin is placed by where it sits across both lists. Being high in each one lifts it; being high in only one does not. The method is reciprocal rank fusion, the standard way of merging two rankings, and it contains no opinion of ours: the only inputs are the two positions WordPress.org itself assigned. Across the 80 rankings we publish, it raised the number of on-topic plugins in a top ten from 7.7 to 9.2 on average and made no ranking worse.

We do not add or remove plugins, and we do not sell placement. Every plugin page shows its position in both lists, so you can see where a ranking came from.

The numbers come from the WordPress.org API

Active installs, downloads, ratings, review counts, last-updated dates and "tested up to" versions are read from the public WordPress.org plugin API. Active installs are reported by WordPress.org as rounded buckets, which is why you see "40,000+" and not an exact figure.

Refreshed every day

Once a day, at 03:00 UTC, we fetch the whole directory and every ranking we track, and store that day's snapshot. The date shown on each page is the date of the snapshot it was built from. Because we keep every day, plugin pages can show how installs, downloads and positions change over time, something the directory itself does not show.

Growth and trending

The trending list compares each plugin's downloads in the last 30 days with the 30 days before. The difference is divided by the earlier period, with a floor of 100 downloads so that tiny plugins cannot post a thousand percent on a handful of installs, and then weighted by the volume of the recent period, so a plugin growing from 50,000 to 60,000 outranks one growing from 100 to 200. It needs 60 days of history, so it opens two months after tracking starts.

Alternatives and comparisons

"Best alternatives" are computed, not picked. Plugins that share a category top 10 score highest, then plugins in the same WordPress.org rankings, then plugins with the same tags, weighted so rare tags count more than common ones. Plugins by the same author and plugins rated under 4.0 are left out. Head-to-head pages exist for pairs inside a category's top 10, and each measure on them names its own leader; there is no overall winner. Only pairs from the top five are offered to search engines, because a few thousand near-identical comparison pages help nobody.

Which plugins get a page

Every plugin in the directory has a page here. Pages for plugins with fewer than 100 active installs are kept out of search engines until they grow, so that the site does not flood search results with near-empty pages. Plugins closed on WordPress.org keep their page with the last known numbers for 90 days, then it is removed.

Rankings we track today

  • Best 404 Error Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "404", "404-error", "404-page" and "error-page". Custom not-found pages, error logging and repairs for broken links.
  • Best Accessibility Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "accessibility", "wcag", "a11y" and "ada". Contrast, keyboard navigation and screen reader fixes, plus accessibility audits.
  • Best Ad Management Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "ads", "adsense", "ad-manager", "advertising" and "banner-ads". Ad slots, rotation and placement rules for banners and ad network code.
  • Best Affiliate Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "affiliate", "affiliates" and "affiliate-marketing". Referral tracking, commissions and payouts for affiliates you run yourself.
  • Best Analytics Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "analytics", "statistics", "stats" and "google-analytics". Visitor stats in the WordPress dashboard, from Google Analytics bridges to self-hosted tracking.
  • Best Anti-Spam Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "spam", "anti-spam", "antispam", "spam-protection" and "honeypot". Comment and form spam blocking, from honeypots to hosted filtering services.
  • Best Audio Player Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "audio-player", "music-player" and "mp3-player". Audio players and playlists for music, podcasts and spoken content.
  • Best Authentication Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "authentication". Two-factor, single sign-on and passwordless logins for WordPress accounts.
  • Best Automation Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "automation", "workflow" and "workflows". Trigger and action rules that connect WordPress plugins to each other and outside services.
  • Best Backup Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "backup", "wordpress-backup", "database-backup", "cloud-backup", "restore" and "migration". Scheduled backups to your own storage, with one-click restore when an update breaks the site.
  • Best Booking Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "booking", "appointments", "appointment-booking", "booking-system", "reservation" and "booking-calendar". Appointment scheduling, staff calendars and online payments for service businesses.
  • Best Caching Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "cache", "caching", "object-cache" and "page-cache". Page caching, minification and browser rules that cut load time without touching the theme.
  • Best CAPTCHA Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "captcha", "recaptcha", "hcaptcha" and "turnstile". Challenges on forms and logins, from invisible scoring to picture puzzles.
  • Best CDN Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "cdn" and "content-delivery-network". Content delivery network integration for images, scripts and static files.
  • Best Checkout Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "checkout", "woocommerce-checkout", "one-page-checkout" and "checkout-fields". One-page checkouts, field editors and cart tweaks that reduce abandonment.
  • Best Coming Soon Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "coming-soon", "coming-soon-page", "maintenance-mode" and "under-construction". Holding pages and maintenance mode while a site is being built or repaired.
  • Best Comment Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "comments" and "comment". Replacements and upgrades for WordPress comments, from threading to moderation.
  • Best Contact Form Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "contact-form", "contact-forms", "forms", "form-builder" and "form". Form builders, from a plain contact box to multi-step forms with payments.
  • Best Countdown Timer Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "countdown", "countdown-timer" and "timer". Countdowns for launches, sales and deadlines, in a page or a banner.
  • Best Coupon Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "coupons", "coupon", "discount" and "discounts". Discount codes, automatic discounts and coupon listings for WordPress shops.
  • Best CRM Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "crm", "contacts" and "customer-relationship-management". Contact records, deal pipelines and customer history kept inside WordPress.
  • Best Custom CSS Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "custom-css" and "css-editor". Somewhere safe to keep style and script changes that survive theme updates.
  • Best Custom Field Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "custom-fields", "custom-field", "fields", "meta-fields" and "meta-box". Structured fields on posts and pages, with editors for the people filling them.
  • Best Custom Post Type Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "custom-post-types", "custom-post-type", "post-types" and "cpt". Content types and taxonomies beyond posts and pages, without writing PHP.
  • Best Directory Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "listings", "listing", "directory", "business-directory", "classifieds" and "directory-plugin". Business listings, classifieds and searchable directories with submissions.
  • Best Donation Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "donation", "donations", "donate", "fundraising" and "recurring-donations". Donation forms, recurring giving and fundraising campaigns for nonprofits.
  • Best Download Manager Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "download", "downloads", "download-manager" and "file-download". Protected file downloads with counters, access rules and version history.
  • Best Ecommerce Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "ecommerce", "e-commerce", "shop", "store", "cart", "shopping-cart" and "commerce". Product catalogues, carts and checkouts that turn a WordPress site into a shop.
  • Best Email Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "email", "smtp", "mail", "email-log" and "email-logs". SMTP delivery, logging and templates so WordPress mail actually reaches the inbox.
  • Best Event Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "events", "event", "event-calendar", "events-calendar" and "event-management". Event calendars, listings and ticket sales for WordPress sites.
  • Best FAQ Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "faq", "faqs", "accordion" and "faq-schema". Accordions and question lists, usually with FAQ schema for search results.
  • Best File Manager Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "file-manager", "wp-file-manager" and "file-management". Browsing, uploading and editing server files from inside wp-admin.
  • Best Forum Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "forum" and "forums". Discussion boards, topics and replies hosted inside WordPress.
  • Best Gallery Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "gallery", "photo-gallery", "image-gallery" and "wordpress-gallery-plugin". Image galleries, lightboxes and albums beyond what the block editor offers.
  • Best GDPR Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "gdpr", "ccpa", "cookie-consent", "cookie-banner" and "cookie-notice". Cookie banners, consent records and data requests for European privacy rules.
  • Best Geolocation Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "geolocation", "geo-location" and "geotargeting". Store locators, distance search and content that changes by visitor location.
  • Best Image Optimization Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "image-optimization", "compress-images", "optimize-images", "image-compression", "webp" and "convert-webp". Compression, resizing and modern formats for the images WordPress serves.
  • Best Import Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "importer", "import", "csv-import", "demo-import" and "one-click-import". Bringing content in from CSV, XML, another site or a theme demo.
  • Best Job Board Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "job-listing", "job-listings", "job-board", "job-manager" and "jobs". Job listings, application forms and employer submissions on a WordPress site.
  • Best Landing Page Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "landing-page", "landing-pages" and "landing-page-builder". Standalone campaign pages with no header, no menu and one thing to do.
  • Best Lead Generation Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "lead-generation", "leads", "lead-capture" and "opt-in". Opt-in forms, content upgrades and campaign tools aimed at collecting contacts.
  • Best Live Chat Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "chat", "live-chat", "chatbot" and "messenger". Chat widgets, hosted messaging and click-to-chat links for support on the page.
  • Best LMS Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "lms", "elearning", "e-learning", "learning-management-system", "online-courses" and "course". Courses, lessons, quizzes and student progress tracking inside WordPress.
  • Best Login Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "login", "wp-login", "custom-login" and "login-form". Custom login pages, social sign-in and limits on who can reach wp-admin.
  • Best Mega Menu Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "mega-menu", "megamenu", "mobile-menu" and "navigation-menu". Multi-column dropdowns with images, widgets and content inside the navigation.
  • Best Membership Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "membership", "memberships", "subscriptions" and "paid-membership". Paid access levels, recurring subscriptions and content locked to members.
  • Best Multisite Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "multisite" and "wordpress-multisite". Network administration, per-site control and tools built for WordPress multisite.
  • Best Newsletter Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "newsletter", "email-marketing", "mailing-list" and "subscribe". Subscriber lists, campaigns and automations run from inside WordPress.
  • Best Notification Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "notification", "notifications" and "notification-bar". Site-wide banners, admin alerts and browser push messages.
  • Best Page Builder Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "page-builder", "website-builder" and "site-builder". Visual layout editors that build pages without writing CSS or PHP.
  • Best Password Protection Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "password", "password-protect", "password-protection" and "protect-content". Locking pages, sections or a whole site behind a password.
  • Best Payment Gateway Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "payment", "payments" and "payment-gateway". Card, wallet and local payment methods wired into WordPress checkouts.
  • Best PDF Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "pdf", "pdf-generator", "pdf-invoice", "embed-pdf" and "pdf-viewer". PDF generation from posts and orders, plus viewers that embed documents in a page.
  • Best Popup Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "popup", "popups", "pop-up", "popup-builder" and "modal". Modals, slide-ins and banners for signups, offers and announcements.
  • Best Portfolio Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "portfolio", "portfolios" and "portfolio-gallery". Project grids, case study layouts and filterable work for creative sites.
  • Best Post Grid Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "post-grid", "post-list", "post-slider", "recent-posts" and "blog-grid". Grids, carousels and filtered lists of posts anywhere on a WordPress site.
  • Best Product Filter Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "product-filter", "woocommerce-filter", "woocommerce-product-filter" and "ajax-filter". Faceted filtering and search for shops with more products than a menu can hold.
  • Best QR Code Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "qr-code", "qrcode" and "qr-code-generator". QR code generation for pages, products, tickets and payments.
  • Best Quiz Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "quiz", "quizzes", "quiz-maker" and "exam". Quizzes, surveys and scored assessments with results and reporting.
  • Best Real Estate Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "real-estate", "realestate", "property" and "property-listing". Property listings, search filters, agent profiles and portal feed imports.
  • Best Redirect Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "redirect", "redirects", "redirection" and "301". 301 rules, broken link tracking and tidy URLs after a site changes shape.
  • Best Related Posts Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "related-posts", "related", "similar-posts" and "related-content". Suggested reading under an article, matched by tags, categories or content.
  • Best Restaurant Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "restaurant", "restaurant-menu", "food-menu", "food-ordering" and "food-delivery". Menus, table reservations and food ordering for restaurant websites.
  • Best Review Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "reviews", "rating", "ratings", "google-reviews", "customer-reviews" and "product-reviews". Star ratings, customer reviews and testimonial displays with review schema.
  • Best RSS Feed Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "feed", "feeds", "rss" and "rss-feed". Feed customisation, and displaying outside feeds inside a WordPress page.
  • Best Schema Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "schema", "structured-data", "rich-snippets", "json-ld" and "microdata". Structured data markup for articles, products, recipes, events and FAQs.
  • Best Security Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "security", "wordpress-security", "malware", "firewall", "brute-force", "protection" and "vulnerability". Firewall, malware scanning, login protection and activity logs on top of WordPress core.
  • Best SEO Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "seo", "wordpress-seo", "meta-tags" and "open-graph". Titles, sitemaps, schema and content checks that WordPress leaves to plugins.
  • Best Shipping Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "shipping", "free-shipping" and "woocommerce-shipping". Live carrier rates, shipping zones, labels and tracking for WordPress stores.
  • Best Sitemap Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "sitemap", "sitemaps" and "html-sitemap". XML sitemaps for search engines and HTML sitemaps for readers.
  • Best Slider Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "slider", "sliders", "slideshow", "image-slider", "carousel-slider", "image-carousel" and "video-slider". Sliders, carousels and slideshows for heroes, testimonials and logos.
  • Best SMS Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "sms", "text-message", "twilio" and "sms-notification". Text message notifications, order alerts and one-time codes from WordPress.
  • Best Social Media Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "social-media", "social", "sharing", "social-share", "social-sharing" and "social-buttons". Share buttons, feeds and auto-posting between WordPress and social networks.
  • Best Social Proof Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "social-proof", "fomo" and "sales-notification". Recent sale popups, live visitor counts and trust badges.
  • Best Table Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "tables", "table", "table-builder" and "data-table". Sortable, searchable data tables and pricing tables that work on a phone.
  • Best Table of Contents Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "table-of-contents" and "toc". Automatic in-page navigation built from the headings of long articles.
  • Best Translation Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "multilingual", "translation", "translate", "language" and "localization". Multilingual sites, translated content and language switchers for WordPress.
  • Best User Profile Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "user-profile", "user-registration", "registration", "user-roles" and "profile". Front-end registration, member profiles and role management for WordPress users.
  • Best Video Gallery Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "video-gallery", "video-player", "video-embed" and "youtube-gallery". Video grids, playlists and players for hosted and self-hosted video.
  • Best White Label Plugins: WordPress.org tag page for "white-label", "whitelabel", "admin-branding" and "custom-dashboard". Rebranding the WordPress admin for clients, agencies and resold sites.

Who runs this

PluginScout is built and maintained by FS Code, the company behind Booknetic and FS Poster. Read more on the about page. This site is not affiliated with or endorsed by WordPress.org or the WordPress Foundation.