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← Rankings

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

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 “brain”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

UltraPress – AI Assistant, Chatbot & SEO shows at wp.org #6 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 700+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Bit Flows: AI Agent Automation & Integrations for Forms, CRM, eCommerce, Google Sheets, and More places #5 on merit, 4.9★ from 64 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 OMGF | GDPR/DSGVO Compliant, Faster Google Fonts. Easy. 300K+ · 4.7★ (213) wp.org #1 2 Local Business Schema Lite 3K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #2 3 Einsatzverwaltung 1K+ · 4.9★ (17) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Instant Indexing for Google 200K+ · 3.6★ (36) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Bit Flows: AI Agent Automation & Integrations for Forms, CRM, eCommerce, Google Sheets, and More 1K+ · 4.9★ (64) wp.org #15 ↓2 10 too low 6 Photo Gallery by Ays – Responsive Image Gallery 1K+ · 4.8★ (19) wp.org #9 ↑1 3 too low 7 WP Calorie Calculator 900+ · 4.7★ (12) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 SQL Buddy – Database Management Made Easy 5K+ · 5.0★ (14) wp.org #17 ↓2 9 too low 9 Text: AI chatbot, live chat & ticketing for customer service 100+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #18 ↓1 9 too low 10 Bible Reading Plans 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #3 7 too high 11 Ochatbot – AI Chatbot for eCommerce & Support 30+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #21 ↓3 10 too low 12 Storebird AI Chat for WooCommerce 30+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #14 2 too low 13 Clone / Duplicate Orders for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 6 too high 14 Trendly AI Post – AI Content Generator, ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Google News Auto Blog 50+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #20 ↓1 6 too low 15 AISaleBot — · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #24 ↓2 9 too low 16 Brain 2FA — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 5 too high 17 UltraPress – AI Assistant, Chatbot & SEO 700+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 11 too high 18 WP Cron Pixie 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 ↓1 8 too high 19 Merchant Brain Checkout Monitor — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 6 too high 20 Smart Showcase for Google Reviews 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 8 too high 21 Mevabi – Daily Word Puzzle 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↑8 5 too high 22 Human Verification Brain Puzzle For Login Security Guard — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓2 23 Brain Pod AI Writer – AI Image Generator – AI Chat Assistant – Whitelabel Generative AI 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓3 4 too high 24 DadsFam Login Security 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓2 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.