Search shortcode vs Search Regex

Head-to-head on the signals that matter, from the public WordPress.org data.

Search shortcode

by Mark-k

Health D47

Search Regex

by John Godley

Health A90

Active-install trajectory

Search shortcode Search Regex

Active installs, each indexed to 100 at the start of the window. A line above 100 is growing its install base, below 100 is shrinking.

Metric	Search shortcode	Search Regex
Active installs Modeled from the public "N+" band and recent downloads.	900–1K	100K–200K ✓
Install trend Change in active installs across the charted window.	-10%	0% ✓
Overall health	D · 47	A · 90 ✓
Maintenance How recently the plugin was updated.	3/100	100/100 ✓
Rating quality Volume-adjusted review quality.	82/100	92/100 ✓
Support Share of forum threads marked resolved.	70/100	70/100
Rating (adjusted)	4.27★	4.64★ ✓
Reviews	6	101 ✓
Ranking optimization How well the listing is tuned to rank on wp.org.	27/100	98/100 ✓
Removal risk Maintenance signals that precede a wp.org closure. Not an official status.	High	Low ✓
Last updated	10.7y ago	1mo ago ✓
Downloads · 30d	102	32.4K ✓
Category	Search	Search

✓ marks the stronger plugin on each row. Rows where they're level show no marker.

Release activity

Search shortcode Search Regex

7-day average daily downloads. Downloads spike for about a week after each release as the install base re-downloads, so read this as release cadence, not growth.