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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “auto payment gateway”

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 “auto payment gateway”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 8 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

Instant Approval Payment Gateway with Instant Payouts shows at wp.org #9 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 807 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Payment Gateway for PayPal on WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.4★ (73) wp.org #1 2 Payment Plugins for PayPal WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (127) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 WooCommerce PayPal Payments 800K+ · 2.9★ (583) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Payment Plugins Braintree For WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.8★ (149) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 UPI QR Code Payment Gateway for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.8★ (256) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 Payment Gateway of Stripe for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.4★ (66) wp.org #4 2 too high 7 Payment Gateway of PayPal for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.2★ (79) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 Easy Digital Downloads – eCommerce Payments and Subscriptions made easy 40K+ · 4.7★ (591) wp.org #17 9 too low 9 Yoco Payments 10K+ · 4.4★ (43) wp.org #8 1 too high 10 Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #24 ↓2 14 too low 11 Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184) wp.org #19 ↑1 8 too low 12 Piraeus Bank WooCommerce Payment Gateway 3K+ · 3.9★ (35) wp.org #14 2 too low 13 Eway Payment Gateway 800+ · 4.3★ (15) wp.org #12 1 too high 14 Paysera Payment Gateway for WooCommerce 7K+ · 2.9★ (16) wp.org #10 4 too high 15 Paystack WooCommerce Payment Gateway 20K+ · 4.5★ (25) wp.org #18 3 too low 16 Payment Gateway bKash for WC 1K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #20 ↓1 4 too low 17 UPI QR Code Payment Gateway 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #15 2 too high 18 NETOPIA Payments Payment Gateway 10K+ · 3.0★ (9) wp.org #11 7 too high 19 Better Payment – Instant Payments, Donations, Fundraising with Subscriptions & More 5K+ · 4.6★ (14) wp.org #21 2 too low 20 Instant Approval Payment Gateway with Instant Payouts 2K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #9 11 too high 21 PayU GPO Payment for WooCommerce 10K+ · 3.7★ (6) wp.org #13 8 too high 22 WC Moneris Payment Gateway 900+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #16 6 too high 23 Peach Payments Gateway 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 ↑1 1 too high 24 SmartQR Payment Gateway for BanglaQR 90+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↑1 1 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.