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← Rankings

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

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 “autoupdate”, 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

Custom Recovery Mode Email shows at wp.org #4 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 13 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

Zotpress places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 66 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 D Disable Plugin Autoupdate Emails 6K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #1 2 WordPress Beta Tester 2K+ · 4.0★ (47) wp.org #2 3 WPLP Cookie Consent – Cookie Banner & Consent Management for GDPR, CCPA & Google Consent Mode 9K+ · 4.6★ (51) wp.org #3 4 Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641) wp.org #11 ↑1 7 too low 5 Ajax Cart AutoUpdate for WooCommerce 7K+ · 5.0★ (214) wp.org #12 ↓1 7 too low 6 Cookiebot – Cookie Banner & Cookie Consent for GDPR, CCPA & Google Consent Mode 100K+ · 4.4★ (440) wp.org #18 12 too low 7 Zotpress 2K+ · 4.9★ (66) wp.org #22 ↑2 15 too low 8 WP Event Aggregator: Import Eventbrite events, Meetup events, social events and any iCal Events into Event Calendar 1K+ · 4.6★ (54) wp.org #21 ↑1 13 too low 9 My Agile Privacy® – CMP, Cookie Consent & Privacy Tools 7K+ · 5.0★ (19) wp.org #17 ↑2 8 too low 10 Post Pay Counter 1K+ · 4.8★ (46) wp.org #16 ↓1 6 too low 11 Seraphinite Bulk Discounts for WooCommerce 20+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 wp-forecast 4K+ · 4.2★ (23) wp.org #20 ↑1 8 too low 13 Spreaker Shortcode 4K+ · 3.6★ (8) wp.org #7 6 too high 14 Content Egg – Affiliate Product Importer & Price Comparison 10K+ · 3.9★ (56) wp.org #23 ↓7 9 too low 15 Autoupdate Plugins & Themes 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #5 10 too high 16 Mediavine Control Panel 10K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #15 ↓1 1 too high 17 Custom Recovery Mode Email 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 ↓1 13 too high 18 WPFrom Email 600+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 12 too high 19 CloudAware Security Audit — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 11 too high 20 WP Utility and Performance 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 7 too high 21 Ignore Or Disable Plugin Update 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 ↑3 7 too high 22 Utilitify – Supercharge Your WordPress Site With Powerpack WordPress Utilities 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 12 too high 23 My Agile Pixel® – Self-Hosted Server-Side Tracking for WordPress 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 4 too high 24 HT Security 100+ · 5.0★ (1) 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.