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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “age based”

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 “age based”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 of the top 20. 3 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

AC’s Retirement Age Calculator shows at wp.org #6 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense places #5 on merit, 4.9★ from 1463 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Age Gate 40K+ · 4.6★ (64) wp.org #1 2 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #5 ↑6 3 too low 3 Limit Login Attempts Security – Login Security, 2FA, Firewall, Brute Force Prevention 1M+ · 4.8★ (1488) wp.org #8 ↓1 5 too low 4 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #9 ↓1 5 too low 5 Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1463) wp.org #15 ↑3 10 too low 6 Popup Builder – Create highly converting, mobile friendly marketing popups. 200K+ · 4.7★ (2215) wp.org #12 6 too low 7 WooCommerce PayPal Payments 800K+ · 2.9★ (583) wp.org #4 3 too high 8 Advanced Age Verification Popup 700+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #2 6 too high 9 Country Based Restrictions for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.5★ (52) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too high 10 Marijuana Age Verify 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #3 7 too high 11 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #21 10 too low 12 GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #14 2 too low 13 Redirection 2M+ · 4.4★ (703) wp.org #22 9 too low 14 MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157) wp.org #18 ↓1 4 too low 15 Dynamic Month & Year into Posts 8K+ · 5.0★ (18) wp.org #19 4 too low 16 EventPrime – Events Calendar, Bookings, Tickets & AI 7K+ · 4.4★ (85) wp.org #20 4 too low 17 C Current Age Plugin 60+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #16 1 too high 18 AC’s Retirement Age Calculator 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 ↓1 12 too high 19 Message Bridge for Contact Form 7 and Telegram 10K+ · 4.3★ (22) wp.org #17 ↓2 2 too high 20 Time-based Revision Cleanup 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #10 ↓1 10 too high 21 Age Verification for your checkout page. Verify your customer’s identity 600+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #13 8 too high 22 AB Age Gate 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 ↓1 11 too high 23 VelvetGate – A Luxury-Style Age Gate 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23

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.