Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “attention 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 “attention tracking”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 of the top 20. 2 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

WooCommerce Tax (formerly WooCommerce Shipping & Tax) shows at wp.org #6 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 500K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.1★ average from 106 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Quiz Maker by AYS places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 601 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #1 2 Cart Abandonment Recovery for WooCommerce – Recover Lost Sales with Automated Emails 300K+ · 4.8★ (626) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 ThirstyAffiliates – Affiliate Links, Link Branding, Link Tracking & Marketing Plugin 30K+ · 4.6★ (251) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too low 4 Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5 Poptin – Email Marketing Automation, Newsletter & Exit Pop Ups, Email Popups 20K+ · 4.9★ (701) wp.org #10 ↑1 5 too low 6 Gutenberg Essential Blocks – Page Builder for Gutenberg Blocks & Patterns 100K+ · 4.9★ (216) wp.org #9 ↑1 3 too low 7 Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups 80K+ · 4.4★ (859) wp.org #14 ↑2 7 too low 8 Qi Addons For Elementor 200K+ · 4.8★ (205) wp.org #12 ↑1 4 too low 9 Quiz Maker by AYS 20K+ · 4.9★ (601) wp.org #20 11 too low 10 Click to Chat – HoliThemes 600K+ · 4.8★ (131) wp.org #13 ↑1 3 too low 11 Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall 80K+ · 4.8★ (334) wp.org #19 ↓1 8 too low 12 Woody Code Snippets – Insert PHP, CSS, JS, and Header/Footer Scripts 50K+ · 4.5★ (221) wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too low 13 AffiliateX – Amazon Affiliate Plugin, Product Boxes, Comparison Tables & Affiliate Link Tracking 9K+ · 4.5★ (35) wp.org #11 ↑1 2 too high 14 Text Typing – grab attention with animated typing headlines 3K+ · 3.8★ (6) wp.org #3 ↑1 11 too high 15 Cool Flipbox – Shortcode & Gutenberg Block 5K+ · 4.8★ (103) wp.org #24 ↓2 9 too low 16 Vanquish Shipping Tracking – Order Tracking & Carrier Links for WooCommerce 30+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #7 ↑1 9 too high 17 StatCounter – Real Time Visitor Stats, Session Replay & Heatmaps 70K+ · 4.2★ (56) wp.org #22 ↓3 5 too low 18 StoreEngine — Complete eCommerce Solution with Memberships, Licensing, Affiliates & More 700+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #15 3 too high 19 Quick Adsense 20K+ · 3.9★ (74) wp.org #23 ↓2 4 too low 20 ThinkRank SEO – AI SEO Plugin for SEO & Google Search Console 20K+ · 4.9★ (36) wp.org #21 1 too low 21 WooCommerce Tax (formerly WooCommerce Shipping & Tax) 500K+ · 2.1★ (106) wp.org #6 ↑1 15 too high 22 AI Search Analytics & Tracking 40+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 ↑1 14 too high 23 Activity Logs, User Activity Tracking, Multisite Activity Log from Logtivity 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #17 6 too high 24 Live Traffic Analytics – Real-Time Visitor & Bot Tracking – Google Analytics Alternative 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↑5 6 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.