wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “accept”
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 “accept”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 7 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
Accept PayPal & Stripe with Subscriptions for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #4 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.8★ average from 9 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 2143 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.
Accept Stripe Payments 20K+ · 4.1★ (114)
wp.org #1 2 
WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #2 3 
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #6 3 too low 4 
Easy Accept Payments via PayPal 6K+ · 4.5★ (34)
wp.org #3 1 too high 5 
Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667)
wp.org #10 5 too low 6 
Easy Digital Downloads – eCommerce Payments and Subscriptions made easy 40K+ · 4.7★ (591)
wp.org #14 8 too low 7 
Payment Plugins for Stripe WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.8★ (303) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #9 2 too low 8 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143)
wp.org #23 ↑1 15 too low 9 
Paid Membership Subscriptions – Effortless Memberships, Recurring Payments & Content Restriction 10K+ · 4.7★ (270)
wp.org #19 10 too low 10 
Stripe Payment Forms by WP Simple Pay – Accept Credit Card Payments + Subscriptions with Stripe 8K+ · 4.4★ (117) not PHP-current
wp.org #11 ↓2 1 too low 11 
WooCommerce PayPal Payments 800K+ · 2.9★ (583) throws errorsnot PHP-current low rating, top placement
wp.org #5 ↑7 6 too high 12 
GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #13 ↓1 1 too low 13 
Accept Donations with PayPal & Stripe 10K+ · 3.8★ (23) thin reviews
wp.org #8 ↓3 5 too high 14 
Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807)
wp.org #24 ↓3 10 too low 15 
GDPR Cookie Compliance – Cookie Banner, Cookie Consent, Cookie Notice for CCPA, EU Cookie Law 300K+ · 4.6★ (205)
wp.org #20 5 too low 16 Accept PayPal & Stripe with Subscriptions for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.8★ (9) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #4 12 too high 17 
bbPress 100K+ · 3.9★ (343)
wp.org #21 ↑1 4 too low 18 
WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway 700K+ · 3.1★ (237) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #7 11 too high 19 
BTCPay Server – Accept Bitcoin payments in WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (21) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #12 ↓1 7 too high 20 
Stripe Payment Forms by WP Full Pay – Accept Credit Card Payments, Donations & Subscriptions 8K+ · 4.2★ (26)
wp.org #15 ↓1 5 too high 21 
WooPayments: Integrated WooCommerce Payments 800K+ · 3.4★ (177) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #16 ↑2 5 too high 22 
Accept Stripe Payments Using Contact Form 7 100+ · 5.0★ (13) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↓2 4 too high 23 
Accept PayPal Payments using Contact Form 7 500+ · 3.6★ (26)
wp.org #22 ↑1 1 too high 24 
Accept Authorize.NET Payments Using Contact Form 7 100+ · 5.0★ (8) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #17 ↑1 7 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.