Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “approval”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 5 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

User Approval Manager shows at wp.org #4 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 200+ 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

User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder places #5 on merit, 4.8★ from 832 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 WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (195) wp.org #2 ↑2 1 too low 2 Order Approval for Woocommerce 1K+ · 4.8★ (23) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #8 ↓1 5 too low 4 PublishPress Checklists: Pre-Publishing Approval Checklist – Validate Post Requirements 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (832) wp.org #15 ↓4 10 too low 6 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #10 ↓1 4 too low 7 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) wp.org #9 ↓3 2 too low 8 Antispam Bee 700K+ · 4.8★ (226) wp.org #14 6 too low 9 New User Approve 20K+ · 4.3★ (131) wp.org #13 ↑3 4 too low 10 Login & Register Customizer – Forms, Popup, Profile & WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.8★ (254) wp.org #19 ↓2 9 too low 11 PublishPress Revisions: Duplicate Posts, Submit, Approve and Schedule Content Changes 10K+ · 4.6★ (66) wp.org #16 ↑3 5 too low 12 WooCommerce PayPal Payments 800K+ · 2.9★ (583) wp.org #6 ↑6 6 too high 13 Drag and Drop Multiple File Upload for Contact Form 7 60K+ · 4.8★ (94) wp.org #20 7 too low 14 B2BKing — Ultimate WooCommerce B2B and Wholesale Plugin — Wholesale Prices, Bulk Order Form & More 10K+ · 4.9★ (109) wp.org #22 8 too low 15 Depicter — Popup & Slider Builder 70K+ · 4.6★ (235) wp.org #17 ↑1 2 too low 16 Instant Approval Payment Gateway with Instant Payouts 2K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #3 ↓1 13 too high 17 picu – Online Photo Proofing Gallery 2K+ · 4.7★ (55) wp.org #23 ↓1 6 too low 18 ThinkRank SEO – AI SEO Plugin for SEO & Google Search Console 20K+ · 4.9★ (36) wp.org #18 19 User Approval Manager 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #4 ↓1 15 too high 20 Reviso – Client Feedback & Approvals for Bricks, Elementor & Gutenberg 200+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #12 ↑1 8 too high 21 WP Ultimate Review 60K+ · 3.4★ (17) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 IP Address Approval 100+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #7 ↑16 15 too high 23 Dokan Order Approval 10+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #21 ↓12 2 too high 24 Easy File Upload & Approval – A Simple File Submission & Review System 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 ↓3 13 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.