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

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 “based”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

Role Based Pricing for Woo by Meow Crew shows at wp.org #8 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.2★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

TranslatePress – Translate Multilingual sites with AI Translation places #9 on merit, 4.7★ from 1667 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Weight Based Shipping for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.6★ (83) wp.org #1 2 Weight Based Shipping Table Rate for WooCommerce – Flexible Shipping 100K+ · 4.9★ (706) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Price Based on Country for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.8★ (262) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #4 5 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1668) wp.org #5 ↑4 6 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #13 7 too low 7 Payment Gateway Based Fees and Discounts for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.7★ (58) wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too high 8 I IP Based Login 600+ · 4.9★ (23) wp.org #7 ↓2 1 too high 9 TranslatePress – Translate Multilingual sites with AI Translation 400K+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #23 ↓3 14 too low 10 Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #14 4 too low 11 EasyMedia – Increase Media Upload File Size | Role-Based Upload Limit | Increase Execution Time 70K+ · 4.9★ (99) wp.org #18 ↓1 7 too low 12 Country Based Restrictions for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.5★ (52) wp.org #12 13 ELEX WooCommerce Role Based Pricing 2K+ · 4.1★ (14) wp.org #9 ↓1 4 too high 14 Hide Admin Bar Based on User Roles – Disable the WordPress Toolbar by Role or Capability 20K+ · 3.9★ (20) wp.org #11 3 too high 15 Admin Bar Editor – Toolbar Customization with User Role based access & Custom menus 3K+ · 4.4★ (24) wp.org #17 ↓1 2 too low 16 Gold Price Based on Weight 300+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #16 ↓2 17 D Disable Payment Methods based on cart conditions for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.7★ (14) wp.org #20 ↑1 3 too low 18 Role Based Redirect 2K+ · 4.8★ (17) wp.org #24 6 too low 19 Squeeze – Browser-Based Image Compression & WebP Converter (No API, No Limits) 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #15 4 too high 20 LottieFiles – JSON Based Animation Lottie & Bodymovin for Elementor 3K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too high 21 Calculate Prices based on Distance For WooCommerce 300+ · 4.8★ (20) wp.org #21 ↑1 22 Device-Based Redirect 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #10 12 too high 23 Role Based Pricing for Woo by Meow Crew 2K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #8 ↓2 15 too high 24 Role Based Content Restrictor 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #22 ↑1 2 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.