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← Rankings

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

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 “acquire”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 6 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

onOffice for WP-Websites shows at wp.org #11 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 800+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WPFunnels – Funnel Builder for WooCommerce with Checkout & One Click Upsell places #4 on merit, 4.9★ from 175 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 Jetpack Protect 100K+ · 4.6★ (123) wp.org #1 2 WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346) wp.org #2 3 ReferralCandy for WooCommerce – Advanced Referral & Affiliate Program 300+ · 4.9★ (211) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 WPFunnels – Funnel Builder for WooCommerce with Checkout & One Click Upsell 5K+ · 4.9★ (175) wp.org #18 ↑1 14 too low 5 Leadpages 10K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 Retainful – WooCommerce Abandoned Cart, Newsletters, Email Marketing, Signup Forms and Automation 1K+ · 4.9★ (98) wp.org #15 ↑1 9 too low 7 PowerBI Embed Reports 500+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #14 7 too low 8 Groundhogg — CRM, Newsletters, and Marketing Automation 2K+ · 4.8★ (150) wp.org #17 ↓2 9 too low 9 HelpCrunch – Live Chat, Chatbot & Knowledge Base for Customer Service 2K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #9 10 AI Copilot – ChatGPT Chatbot & AI Engine for Post Automation 1K+ · 4.2★ (6) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 WSW – Shopify WooCommerce / WordPress Integration and Migration 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 6 too high 12 ChatBot.com Conversational AI Support 1K+ · 3.7★ (10) wp.org #12 13 R Republication Tracker Tool 200+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 3 too high 14 Manago AI & Leadoo AI 900+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #4 10 too high 15 EngageBay Landing Pages – Responsive landing pages for lead generation and conversions 70+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 ↑1 7 too low 16 Bible Reading Plans 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 ↑1 17 eHive Access 70+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 9 too high 18 AzamPay Gateway for WooCommerce 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↑1 2 too low 19 BotPenguin – Generative AI Chatbot with Live Chat & ChatGPT 600+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↑3 2 too low 20 Dotdigital for WooCommerce 60+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓1 3 too low 21 S Skyword Publishing API 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 8 too high 22 Eber 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↑1 3 too high 23 onOffice for WP-Websites 800+ · 2.0★ (4) wp.org #11 12 too high 24 EngageBay Forms – Simple and Powerful Forms to Capture and Nurture Leads 100+ · 1.0★ (1) wp.org #24

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.