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← Rankings

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

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 “availability”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Rsilitech Postcode Availability shows at wp.org #10 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 20+ 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Booking for Appointments and Events Calendar – Amelia 90K+ · 4.6★ (793) wp.org #1 ↑2 2 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27820) wp.org #3 ↑2 1 too low 3 Availability Datepicker – Booking Calendar for Contact Form 7 – Input WP 10K+ · 4.1★ (42) wp.org #2 ↓1 1 too high 4 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) wp.org #4 ↓3 5 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #5 ↑1 6 Booking Calendar 40K+ · 4.8★ (657) wp.org #6 ↓1 7 Product Feed Manager for WooCommerce – CTX Feed – Support 220+ Shopping, AI & Social Channels 90K+ · 4.6★ (838) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #7 ↑1 1 too high 9 WP Simple Booking Calendar 10K+ · 4.8★ (227) wp.org #9 10 My Calendar – Accessible Event Manager 20K+ · 4.7★ (159) wp.org #11 ↓2 1 too low 11 WP Booking System – Booking Calendar 10K+ · 4.9★ (344) wp.org #14 ↓2 3 too low 12 Simply Schedule Appointments 50K+ · 5.0★ (155) wp.org #13 1 too low 13 Product Feed Manager for WooCommerce – RexFeed – Sell on 200+ Shopping Channels 10K+ · 4.8★ (256) wp.org #17 4 too low 14 Appointment Booking Plugin – LatePoint | Calendar & Scheduling for WordPress 100K+ · 4.9★ (107) wp.org #16 ↓6 2 too low 15 Sucuri Security – Auditing, Malware Scanner and Security Hardening 600K+ · 4.2★ (386) wp.org #15 ↓2 16 Fluent Booking – The Ultimate Appointments Scheduling, Events Booking, Events Calendar Solution 20K+ · 4.7★ (46) wp.org #19 ↓1 3 too low 17 Waitlist Woocommerce ( Back in stock notifier ) 4K+ · 4.6★ (113) wp.org #22 ↓2 5 too low 18 BA Book Everything 10K+ · 4.2★ (20) wp.org #12 ↑3 6 too high 19 Pinpoint Booking System – Legacy version 2K+ · 3.6★ (185) wp.org #24 ↓5 5 too low 20 WP24 Domain Check 4K+ · 4.3★ (32) wp.org #23 ↓2 3 too low 21 EMC – Embed Calendly Scheduling With Ease 10K+ · 4.8★ (14) wp.org #21 ↓4 22 Booking Package 10K+ · 4.0★ (15) wp.org #18 4 too high 23 MotoPress Hotel Booking for Elementor 10K+ · 3.9★ (7) wp.org #20 ↓5 3 too high 24 Rsilitech Postcode Availability 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 ↑5 14 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.