wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “accept payments”
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 payments”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 9 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
WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway shows at wp.org #4 but places #12 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 700K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.1★ average from 237 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Calculated Fields Form – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact, Payment, Quote, Quiz & More places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 973 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143)
wp.org #3 ↓1 2 too low 2 
WooCommerce PayPal Payments 800K+ · 2.9★ (583) throws errorsnot PHP-current low rating, top placement
wp.org #1 1 too high 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 
Accept Stripe Payments 20K+ · 4.1★ (114)
wp.org #5 1 too low 5 
WooPayments: Integrated WooCommerce Payments 800K+ · 3.4★ (177) throws errorsnot PHP-current low rating, top placement
wp.org #2 ↑1 3 too high 6 
Easy Digital Downloads – eCommerce Payments and Subscriptions made easy 40K+ · 4.7★ (591)
wp.org #9 3 too low 7 
Payment Plugins for Stripe WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.8★ (303) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #7 8 
Paid Membership Subscriptions – Effortless Memberships, Recurring Payments & Content Restriction 10K+ · 4.7★ (270)
wp.org #12 4 too low 9 
Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807)
wp.org #14 ↓3 5 too low 10 Calculated Fields Form – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact, Payment, Quote, Quiz & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (973)
wp.org #19 ↓2 9 too low 11 
WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #10 1 too high 12 WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway 700K+ · 3.1★ (237) throws errorsnot PHP-current low rating, top placement
wp.org #4 8 too high 13 
Easy Accept Payments via PayPal 6K+ · 4.5★ (34)
wp.org #8 5 too high 14 
Payment Plugins for PayPal WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (127) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #13 ↑1 1 too high 15 
FunnelKit Payment Gateway for Stripe WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.9★ (53)
wp.org #18 ↑1 3 too low 16 
Payment Button for PayPal 4K+ · 4.5★ (40)
wp.org #15 ↓2 1 too high 17 
Stripe Payment Forms by WP Simple Pay – Accept Credit Card Payments + Subscriptions with Stripe 8K+ · 4.4★ (117) not PHP-current
wp.org #20 3 too low 18 
Mollie Payments for WooCommerce 100K+ · 3.6★ (69) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #11 ↑5 7 too high 19 
Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #24 5 too low 20 
BTCPay Server – Accept Bitcoin payments in WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (21) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too high 21 
Payment Gateway for PayPal on WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.4★ (73) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #22 1 too low 22 
Paystack WooCommerce Payment Gateway 20K+ · 4.5★ (25) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #23 ↓1 1 too low 23 
Direct Payments for WooCommerce – Bank Transfer, Mobile Money, Crypto and Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Payments 800+ · 5.0★ (10) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #21 2 too high 24 
GetPaid Stripe Payments 2K+ · 5.0★ (3) 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.