Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “bitbucket”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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

Pledged Plugins PCI Gateway for NMI and WooCommerce shows at wp.org #6 but places #13 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP Socializer – Simple & Easy Social Media Share Icons places #4 on merit, 4.5★ from 128 reviews, but shows at wp.org #8. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Product Feed Manager for WooCommerce – CTX Feed – Support 220+ Shopping, AI & Social Channels 90K+ · 4.6★ (838) wp.org #1 2 Secure Gateway for Authorize.net and WooCommerce by Pledged Plugins 10K+ · 4.9★ (34) wp.org #2 3 Project Manager – AI Powered Project Management, Task Management, Kanban Board & Time Tracker 5K+ · 3.8★ (187) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 WP Socializer – Simple & Easy Social Media Share Icons 10K+ · 4.5★ (128) wp.org #8 4 too low 5 Pastacode 400+ · 4.9★ (14) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Deployer for Git 600+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #3 3 too high 7 Marker.io – Visual Website Feedback 4K+ · 5.0★ (44) wp.org #10 3 too low 8 SpinupWP 30K+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 WholesaleX – Wholesale Pricing & B2B Solution 2K+ · 5.0★ (67) wp.org #11 2 too low 10 WowStore – Store Builder & Product Blocks for WooCommerce 4K+ · 4.6★ (113) wp.org #13 3 too low 11 Gitium 400+ · 4.1★ (10) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 WowShipping – Table Rate & Weight Based Shipping 700+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #14 2 too low 13 Pledged Plugins PCI Gateway for NMI and WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #6 7 too high 14 FlyWP Helper – Page Cache, Page Optimization, Emails for FlyWP Server Control Panel 4K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #12 ↓1 2 too high 15 Appsero Helper 40+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 ↓3 1 too low 16 GF ACH Field Type 300+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↓3 1 too high 17 Trinity Backup – Backup, Migrate, Restore, Clone & Schedule Backups 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓4 2 too low 18 Ybug Feedback Widget 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 ↓4 3 too low 19 UpdatePulse Server 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 ↑1 2 too high 20 PLU Redux 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓3 2 too low 21 WholesaleX WCFM B2B Multivendor Marketplace 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓3 2 too low 22 GoUrl Bitcoin Altcoin Payment Gateway For Gravity Forms 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↓4 4 too high 23 WholesaleX – Migration Tool 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓3 1 too low 24 Payment Gateway for USAePay on WooCommerce 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓4 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.