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← Rankings

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

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 “bin”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 4 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

IP2Location Variables shows at wp.org #12 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.3★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Barcode Generator: Print Product Labels & Order Barcode Label (A4, Thermal/Roll, Letter) places #8 on merit, 4.5★ from 74 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 IP2Location Country Blocker 30K+ · 4.1★ (128) wp.org #1 2 IP2Location Redirection 7K+ · 4.3★ (43) wp.org #2 3 Product Feed Manager for WooCommerce – CTX Feed – Support 220+ Shopping, AI & Social Channels 90K+ · 4.6★ (838) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 User Admin Simplifier 10K+ · 5.0★ (31) wp.org #7 ↑1 3 too low 5 Product Code for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.9★ (30) wp.org #9 4 too low 6 3DPrint Lite 600+ · 4.8★ (37) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too low 7 WidgetKit for Elementor – Lightweight Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 7K+ · 4.5★ (35) wp.org #13 ↓1 6 too low 8 Barcode Generator: Print Product Labels & Order Barcode Label (A4, Thermal/Roll, Letter) 900+ · 4.5★ (74) wp.org #17 9 too low 9 IP2Location Tags 200+ · 3.7★ (9) wp.org #5 4 too high 10 DevDome Media Cleaner: Remove Unused Images & Media Library Cleanup 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #3 ↑1 7 too high 11 Proxy Cache Purge 50K+ · 4.4★ (26) wp.org #11 ↑2 12 SVG Flags – Country Flag Blocks and Galleries 2K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #6 6 too high 13 Fast eBay Listings 400+ · 4.5★ (18) wp.org #18 ↓2 5 too low 14 Easy 3D Viewer 1K+ · 4.1★ (12) wp.org #10 4 too high 15 Bit CRM: Sales CRM Manage Lead, Contact, Deal, Invoice, Client Portal & Collect Payment 300+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #16 ↑3 1 too low 16 Order Picking App | Order Picking, Barcode Scanning & Fulfillment for WooCommerce 30+ · 4.6★ (7) wp.org #22 ↓2 6 too low 17 Gerdoo Orphan Media Cleaner 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 3 too high 18 QRAuth – Passwordless & Social Login 40+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24 ↓3 6 too low 19 B Bin Tracker Online — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↑3 1 too low 20 SnapShots 20+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #21 1 too low 21 IP2Location Variables 100+ · 2.3★ (3) wp.org #12 ↓1 9 too high 22 HBLPAY Payment Gateway for WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 7 too high 23 ODD — Apps for OpenStation 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↓6 24 Substack Importer 1K+ · 2.8★ (4) wp.org #19 ↓1 5 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.