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

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 “avg”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 3 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

Cost Calculator for WPForms shows at wp.org #9 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #1 2 Real Cookie Banner: GDPR & ePrivacy Cookie Consent 100K+ · 4.9★ (492) wp.org #4 ↑1 2 too low 3 GDPRess | Eliminate external requests to increase GDPR compliance 1K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Free Cookie Notice & Consent Banner for Privacy Compliance (GDPR, CCPA, DSGVO and others) 7K+ · 4.0★ (16) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 FluentCart A New Era of eCommerce – Faster, Lighter, and Simpler 9K+ · 4.5★ (46) wp.org #8 ↑1 3 too low 6 TrueAna – True Analytics Dashboard 1K+ · 5.0★ (30) wp.org #14 ↓1 8 too low 7 Cost Calculator for Contact Form 7 – Price Calculator Free 5K+ · 3.8★ (15) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 CookieCode 200+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #13 ↑1 5 too low 9 Cost Calculator for Elementor 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 ↓1 4 too high 10 Cost Calculator & Cost Estimation 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #10 11 MyServerInfo – Memory Usage, PHP Version, Memory Limit, Execution Time, CPU Usage, Disk Usage 800+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #11 12 Laposta Signup Embed 1K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 5 too high 13 HapiGuard – Invalid Click Protection for AdSense, Ad Manager & Auto Ads 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 2 too low 14 W Wiwi Forms – Form Builder 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↑5 3 too low 15 Repeat Customer for WooCommerce 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 3 too low 16 Cost Calculator for WPForms 100+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #9 ↓1 7 too high 17 Frisbii Billing 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓2 2 too low 18 CBX Multi Criteria Rating & Review 10+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #12 6 too high 19 Wiwi Cookie Consent — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 3 too high 20 Missing Widgets for Elementor 70+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓1 1 too low 21 PayHelm: Export, Reports & Analytics for WooCommerce 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too low 22 SaveElectro — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 Visitor Lens 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Upkyk Assistant AI — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↓1 4 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.