Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “1.2.4”

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 “1.2.4”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

GreenPay(tm) by Green.Money shows at wp.org #9 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 1.7★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin places #4 on merit, 4.9★ from 4228 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Flash Toolkit 10K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #1 2 Grids: Layout builder for WordPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #5 3 too low 3 AF Companion – Starter Sites, Speed Booster & Growth Suite for Professional Publishing 10K+ · 4.9★ (34) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #23 19 too low 5 Search Exclude 50K+ · 4.8★ (218) wp.org #24 19 too low 6 Cleanup Action Scheduler 1K+ · 3.2★ (6) wp.org #2 4 too high 7 Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157) wp.org #22 15 too low 8 MeSomb for WooCommerce 70+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #3 5 too high 9 Limit Comments and Word Count 40+ · 4.4★ (9) wp.org #10 1 too low 10 PageForge – AI Programmatic SEO, Bulk Page Generator, SEO MCP & Local SEO 70+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #14 4 too low 11 Simpler Checkout 50+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #12 1 too low 12 LittleBig Universal CalDAV for FluentBooking 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 6 too high 13 IA Magic Galleries 30+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #11 2 too high 14 WP Plugin Filter 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 6 too high 15 wpsection 3K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 8 too high 16 Basic Visitor Counter 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 17 M Multilingual Comments for WPGlobus — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 4 too high 18 Keyword-Based Bulk Category Assignment for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 19 TZSMM Pay Gateway 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 20 Obselling – Sell other products of an obsolete product or out of stock. — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 5 too high 21 SetChat — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 Sorraia — Forms, Bookings, Shop & AI Chat — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 1 too high 23 WysylajTaniej.pl — przesyłki kurierskie 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 6 too high 24 GreenPay(tm) by Green.Money 100+ · 1.7★ (6) wp.org #9 15 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.