Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “behaviour targets”

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 “behaviour targets”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Hide Price and Add to Cart for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #13 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 800+ 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

Brevo – Email, SMS, Web Push, Chat, and more. places #11 on merit, 4.1★ from 284 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Redirection 2M+ · 4.4★ (703) wp.org #1 2 Max Mega Menu 300K+ · 4.8★ (882) wp.org #2 3 Head & Footer Code 100K+ · 5.0★ (51) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Internal Link Juicer: SEO Auto Linker for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (537) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 D Dropdown Multisite Selector 900+ · 5.0★ (19) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 FancyBox for WordPress 30K+ · 4.6★ (92) wp.org #6 7 Tabby Responsive Tabs 10K+ · 4.9★ (144) wp.org #11 4 too low 8 Easy Media Download 8K+ · 4.0★ (28) wp.org #8 9 AdUnblocker 200+ · 4.8★ (32) wp.org #12 3 too low 10 CiviCRM Admin Utilities 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #5 5 too high 11 Brevo – Email, SMS, Web Push, Chat, and more. 100K+ · 4.1★ (284) wp.org #21 10 too low 12 Footnotes Made Easy 2K+ · 4.6★ (40) wp.org #14 ↓1 2 too low 13 Petitioner 200+ · 4.9★ (10) wp.org #9 4 too high 14 External Links – nofollow, noopener & new window 90K+ · 4.3★ (247) wp.org #18 ↓1 4 too low 15 Geolocation IP Detection 20K+ · 4.7★ (59) wp.org #24 9 too low 16 HollerBox — Fast & Effective Popups & Lead-Generation 2K+ · 4.8★ (32) wp.org #22 6 too low 17 Metorik – Reports & Email Automation for WooCommerce 9K+ · 5.0★ (20) wp.org #17 ↓1 18 Two Factor (2FA) Authentication via Email 9K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #10 8 too high 19 Proxy Cache Purge 50K+ · 4.4★ (26) wp.org #23 4 too low 20 iZooto – Web Push Notifications 900+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #15 ↓1 5 too high 21 Add as Preferred Source on Google 800+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 Hide Price and Add to Cart for WooCommerce 800+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #13 ↑5 9 too high 23 Calorie Calculator 100+ · 3.4★ (10) wp.org #19 4 too high 24 Moosend Website Connector 1K+ · 3.0★ (4) wp.org #16 ↓1 8 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.