Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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

Scanpay for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #5 but places #13 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WooCommerce PayPal Payments 800K+ · 2.9★ (583) wp.org #1 2 WP OAuth Server ( Login with WordPress ) 1K+ · 4.9★ (41) wp.org #10 8 too low 3 Morning for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 TrustMate.io – WooCommerce integration 3K+ · 4.0★ (10) wp.org #4 5 Amazon Pay for WooCommerce 10K+ · 2.5★ (27) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Cardinity Payment Gateway for WooCommerce 200+ · 3.8★ (10) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 EchoRewards – Refer a Friend Rewards Program for WooCommerce 300+ · 3.9★ (8) wp.org #14 7 too low 8 Tochka Bank: Internet-acquiring 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #3 5 too high 9 Nexi Checkout 2K+ · 4.0★ (3) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 Checkout.com Payment Gateway 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #9 1 too high 11 Fast User Switching 1K+ · 4.1★ (9) wp.org #24 13 too low 12 Midtrans-WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #18 6 too low 13 Scanpay for WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 8 too high 14 Payment Gateway for Ameriabank 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 ↑1 2 too high 15 AltaPay for WooCommerce 60+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 ↑1 4 too high 16 UpdatePulse Server 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 ↑9 3 too high 17 morkva NovaPay 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 2 too low 18 àpay 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 3 too high 19 AutifyDigital Lloyds® Pay Now for payment 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 1 too low 20 plazox 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 1 too low 21 PlanetStudio Payment Gateway 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 4 too high 22 BeGateway Payment Gateway for WooCommerce 400+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 23 Blueforce Manual Payments for TWINT — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 24 Events Calendar by FooEvents 4K+ · 3.0★ (2) 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.