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

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 “annual”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

Property Hive Rental Yield Calculator shows at wp.org #5 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 400+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Product Feed for Google Shopping, Microsoft Advertising and 40+ Channels for WooCommerce Merchant places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 87 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Simple Membership 40K+ · 4.6★ (475) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 Charitable – Donation & Fundraising Platform (Donation Forms, Recurring Donations & Fundraising Campaigns) 10K+ · 4.9★ (219) wp.org #3 4 Pricing Table by Supsystic – Responsive Pricing Plans & Comparison Tables 10K+ · 4.1★ (288) wp.org #4 5 Business Directory Plugin – Easy Listing & Member Directories for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (504) wp.org #10 5 too low 6 PDF Embedder – PDF Viewer & Embed PDF Files for WordPress 300K+ · 4.7★ (529) wp.org #14 ↓1 8 too low 7 Quttera ThreatSign – Web Malware Scanner for WordPress 10K+ · 3.9★ (47) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 WP Date and Time Shortcode 10K+ · 4.9★ (31) wp.org #13 ↓2 5 too low 9 Mortgage Calculator 4K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 Sales Tax Reports For WooCommerce 800+ · 4.8★ (10) wp.org #12 ↓4 2 too low 11 Product Feed for Google Shopping, Microsoft Advertising and 40+ Channels for WooCommerce Merchant 2K+ · 4.8★ (87) wp.org #21 ↓3 10 too low 12 Web Accessibility by accessiBe 10K+ · 4.1★ (32) wp.org #15 ↓3 3 too low 13 Dynamic Time 200+ · 4.7★ (21) wp.org #19 ↓3 6 too low 14 PlugVersions – Easily roll back to previous versions of your plugins. 1K+ · 4.4★ (8) wp.org #11 ↓2 3 too high 15 Simple Mortgage Calculator 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #9 6 too high 16 Video Grid 1K+ · 4.4★ (15) wp.org #20 4 too low 17 Brevo for WooCommerce 30K+ · 3.4★ (55) wp.org #18 ↓1 1 too low 18 WP WooCommerce Mailchimp 5K+ · 4.3★ (35) wp.org #24 ↓1 6 too low 19 Property Hive Rental Yield Calculator 400+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #5 14 too high 20 myPOS Checkout 4K+ · 3.3★ (16) wp.org #23 ↑1 3 too low 21 MC Annual Upcounter 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 ↓1 13 too high 22 AWeber – Free Sign Up Form and Landing Page Builder Plugin for Lead Generation and Email Newsletter Growth 8K+ · 2.6★ (25) wp.org #17 ↓2 5 too high 23 Block for Apple Maps 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 ↓2 7 too high 24 Greek VAT & Invoices for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #22 ↓3 2 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.