Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “bonus plus”

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

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

Divi Testimonial Plus shows at wp.org #5 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.5★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WPVR – 360 Panorama viewer and Virtual Tour Builder for WordPress places #8 on merit, 4.7★ from 133 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #1 2 Wallet for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.7★ (188) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 Analytify – Google Analytics 4 Tracking and Reporting in WordPress 20K+ · 4.7★ (488) wp.org #9 6 too low 4 Create 6K+ · 4.3★ (25) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 WP Data Access – App Builder for Tables, Forms, Dashboards, Charts & Maps 10K+ · 4.9★ (88) wp.org #7 ↑1 2 too low 6 Accessibility Tool Kit: WP Accessibility checker plugin for WCAG, Section 508, ADA, EAA Compliance 1K+ · 4.8★ (5) wp.org #2 4 too high 7 Football Pool 900+ · 4.9★ (83) wp.org #11 4 too low 8 WPVR – 360 Panorama viewer and Virtual Tour Builder for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (133) wp.org #15 ↓1 7 too low 9 Giveaways and Contests by RafflePress – Get More Website Traffic, Email Subscribers, and Social Followers 20K+ · 3.9★ (43) wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too high 10 Advanced Coupons for WooCommerce – BOGO, Store Credit & WooCommerce Coupons 20K+ · 4.4★ (184) wp.org #16 ↑2 6 too low 11 Affiliates Manager 8K+ · 4.1★ (61) wp.org #10 1 too high 12 Coupon Affiliates – Affiliate Plugin for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.9★ (77) wp.org #13 1 too low 13 WP Flow Plus 800+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #6 7 too high 14 Better Click To Share – Shareable Quote Boxes for X (Twitter) 6K+ · 4.8★ (48) wp.org #20 6 too low 15 PopupAlly 2K+ · 4.1★ (76) wp.org #18 ↓1 3 too low 16 Contests by Rewards Fuel 40+ · 4.4★ (65) wp.org #24 8 too low 17 Audio Album 4K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #19 2 too low 18 Host Header Injection Fix 400+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #12 6 too high 19 SweepWidget – Giveaway, Contest, Sweepstakes, Competition & Photo Contest Plugin 100+ · 4.3★ (14) wp.org #17 ↓1 2 too high 20 Radio Station by netmix® – Manage and play your Show Schedule in WordPress! 1K+ · 4.6★ (30) wp.org #21 1 too low 21 RewardsWP – Loyalty Points & Referral Program for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 ↑1 7 too high 22 Divi Testimonial Plus 200+ · 2.5★ (4) wp.org #5 17 too high 23 Bonus Referrals for AffiliateWP — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 1 too high 24 I IGS Bonus Value Calculator — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 1 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.