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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “1.5”

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 “1.5”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 5 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

Pinny's Multi Admin – Add Multiple Admin Emails shows at wp.org #10 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Super Progressive Web Apps places #5 on merit, 4.6★ from 225 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery 300K+ · 4.3★ (4342) wp.org #1 2 Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4358) wp.org #2 3 FG Joomla to WordPress 7K+ · 4.7★ (336) wp.org #3 4 Ultimate Responsive Image Slider 30K+ · 4.5★ (248) wp.org #4 5 Super Progressive Web Apps 40K+ · 4.6★ (225) wp.org #18 13 too low 6 Decimal Product Quantity for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.5★ (11) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Geo Mashup 1K+ · 4.7★ (33) wp.org #9 2 too low 8 Feeds for TikTok (TikTok feed, video, and gallery plugin) 70K+ · 4.3★ (11) wp.org #8 9 Media Library Tools – AI-Powered Rename, Clean & CSV Import/Export 2K+ · 4.7★ (14) wp.org #11 2 too low 10 AI Bud – AI Content Generator, AI Chatbot, ChatGPT, Gemini, GPT-4o 2K+ · 4.5★ (23) wp.org #13 3 too low 11 Broken Link Checker by AIOSEO – Find & Fix Broken Internal, External & Video Links 200K+ · 3.8★ (87) wp.org #14 3 too low 12 Seraphinite Post .DOCX Source 800+ · 4.6★ (45) wp.org #17 5 too low 13 Donorbox – Free Recurring Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 8K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #20 7 too low 14 Sugar Calendar – Events Calendar, Event Tickets, and Events Management Platform 10K+ · 4.5★ (24) wp.org #22 8 too low 15 seQura 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 9 too high 16 Crypto Payment Gateway with Instant Payouts 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 9 too high 17 Better Section Navigation 600+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #21 4 too low 18 List MixCloud 300+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #12 6 too high 19 WPC Product Quantity for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.0★ (15) wp.org #23 4 too low 20 translit it! 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #24 4 too low 21 Pinny's Multi Admin – Add Multiple Admin Emails 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 11 too high 22 SmartQR Payment Gateway for BanglaQR 90+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 7 too high 23 Force WebP 100+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #19 4 too high 24 PurePen AI – AI Content Generator with Claude, GPT-4o, Gemini & More 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 8 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.