Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “airbnb”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Booking Manager – Sync WP Booking Calendar – Import Events, Export Bookings to ICS Calendar shows at wp.org #7 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 5K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Strong Testimonials places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 614 reviews, but shows at wp.org #11. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Widgets for Airbnb Reviews 6K+ · 4.6★ (60) wp.org #1 2 Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #2 3 WP Airbnb Review Slider 1K+ · 5.0★ (56) wp.org #3 4 ICS Calendar 10K+ · 4.9★ (72) wp.org #4 5 WP Simple Booking Calendar 10K+ · 4.8★ (227) wp.org #5 6 MultiVendorX – WooCommerce Multivendor Marketplace AI Powered Solutions 2K+ · 4.8★ (432) wp.org #6 ↑8 7 Strong Testimonials 80K+ · 4.8★ (614) wp.org #11 ↑1 4 too low 8 WP Social Ninja – Embed Social Feeds, User Reviews & Chat Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (71) wp.org #8 9 WP Google Review Slider 30K+ · 4.9★ (373) wp.org #10 ↑1 1 too low 10 Tagembed: Social Media Feeds and Customer Reviews Widget 9K+ · 3.9★ (62) wp.org #9 ↑1 1 too high 11 Widgets for Booking.com Reviews 9K+ · 4.9★ (65) wp.org #15 ↓8 4 too low 12 WP Tripadvisor Review Widgets 20K+ · 4.1★ (116) wp.org #16 ↓7 4 too low 13 Widgets for Reviews & Recommendations 8K+ · 4.6★ (98) wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too low 14 VikBooking Hotel Booking Engine & PMS 8K+ · 4.8★ (61) wp.org #14 ↑4 15 WP Review Slider 6K+ · 4.8★ (181) wp.org #22 ↑2 7 too low 16 WPS Bookings for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.5★ (43) wp.org #21 ↓6 5 too low 17 Review Slider for WooCommerce 400+ · 4.7★ (12) wp.org #19 2 too low 18 Hydrogen Calendar Embeds 1K+ · 4.5★ (6) wp.org #12 ↑1 6 too high 19 Vachr Short-Term Rental Reservations 30+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #13 6 too high 20 Widgets for Yelp Reviews 3K+ · 3.8★ (10) wp.org #23 3 too low 21 Tourfic – AI Powered Travel Booking, Hotel Booking & Car Rental 1K+ · 4.1★ (16) wp.org #24 ↓2 3 too low 22 Payoneer Checkout 5K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #18 ↓1 4 too high 23 Widgets for Thumbtack Reviews 900+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #20 3 too high 24 Booking Manager – Sync WP Booking Calendar – Import Events, Export Bookings to ICS Calendar 5K+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #7 ↓1 17 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.