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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “applicant tracking”

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 “applicant tracking”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20.

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

Jobus – Job Board, Recruitment & Hiring Platform shows at wp.org #14 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 100+ 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.

Buried gem

Affiliates Manager places #5 on merit, 4.1★ from 61 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 ApplyOnline – Application Form Builder and Manager 2K+ · 4.1★ (40) wp.org #1 2 JobWP – Job Board Plugin for WordPress | Job Listings, Career Page & Applications 1K+ · 5.0★ (20) wp.org #2 3 easy.jobs – AI powered Job Listing, Job Board, Career Page, Recruitment & Hiring Solution 4K+ · 4.7★ (26) wp.org #3 4 Personio Integration Light 200+ · 4.9★ (7) wp.org #4 5 Affiliates Manager 8K+ · 4.1★ (61) wp.org #11 6 too low 6 Local Delivery Drivers for WooCommerce 800+ · 4.3★ (18) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 Employee, Leave and Recruitment Management System – Crew HRM 100+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 Rixden Career Manager 10+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 Quick Interest Slider 1K+ · 4.6★ (13) wp.org #17 ↓1 8 too low 10 PCRecruiter Extensions 200+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #5 5 too high 11 SWOT Solutions Applicant Tracking Lite — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #6 5 too high 12 Job Manager by JobScore 10+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #23 11 too low 13 Vakanssi: Careers Page, Hiring & Applicant Tracking — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 3 too high 14 Workeera – AI Job Board with Applicant Tracking System (ATS) — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 2 too high 15 Matador Jobs Lite 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↑3 16 Isolved Talent Acquisition 70+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↓1 17 Wholesale Customers For WooCommerce 60+ · 4.3★ (4) wp.org #22 ↓1 5 too low 18 Bookingor – Booking System and Appointment Booking Calendar, Meeting Scheduling & WooCommerce 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 5 too high 19 RS ARC Manager – Advance Review Copy Management System 60+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓1 1 too high 20 Jobus – Job Board, Recruitment & Hiring Platform 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 6 too high 21 DCI Job Listing — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 2 too high 22 CMAA Recruit — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 2 too high 23 I Inesta Gravity Forms Recruitee Integration — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↑1 2 too high 24 Job Board by ejobsitesoftware 10+ · 0.0★ (0) 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.