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

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 “buddyboss”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

WP Last Login shows at wp.org #11 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.8★ average from 26 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Site Reviews places #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 376 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WPML Multilingual for BuddyPress and BuddyBoss 6K+ · 4.6★ (37) wp.org #1 2 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) wp.org #2 3 Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots 10K+ · 4.8★ (142) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 LoginWP (Formerly Peter's Login Redirect) 80K+ · 4.8★ (503) wp.org #6 ↑3 2 too low 5 WP Armour – Honeypot Anti Spam 400K+ · 5.0★ (1471) wp.org #8 ↓1 3 too low 6 Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1463) wp.org #7 ↑13 1 too low 7 BuddyPress & BuddyBoss Member Profile Forms 300+ · 3.9★ (21) wp.org #3 4 too high 8 Site Reviews 60K+ · 4.9★ (376) wp.org #13 ↓3 5 too low 9 BP Profile Search 5K+ · 5.0★ (71) wp.org #9 ↓4 10 Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #14 ↓2 4 too low 11 ActiveLayer Anti-Spam: Spam Protection for Forms & Comments 10K+ · 4.9★ (10) wp.org #5 ↑6 6 too high 12 Directorist: AI-Powered Business Directory, Listings & Classified Ads 20K+ · 4.6★ (698) wp.org #16 ↑1 4 too low 13 Social Login, Social Sharing by miniOrange 10K+ · 4.6★ (356) wp.org #15 ↑1 2 too low 14 FluentCommunity – Ultra-Fast High-Performance Social Network, Community, LMS & Online Courses 8K+ · 4.8★ (96) wp.org #12 ↓4 2 too high 15 reCaptcha by BestWebSoft 100K+ · 3.9★ (391) wp.org #19 ↑2 4 too low 16 Eventin – Events Calendar, Tickets, Registration, Booking & WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (413) wp.org #18 ↓2 2 too low 17 bbPress Notify (No-Spam) 2K+ · 4.8★ (40) wp.org #17 ↓5 18 GamiPress – Gamification plugin to reward points, badges & ranks in WordPress, now with AI 10K+ · 4.9★ (493) wp.org #23 5 too low 19 Match Me for BuddyPress & BuddyBoss 200+ · 4.6★ (12) wp.org #10 ↓4 9 too high 20 BuddyPress Builder for Elementor – BuddyBuilder 1K+ · 4.6★ (57) wp.org #20 ↓1 21 WP Last Login 10K+ · 3.8★ (26) wp.org #11 ↑3 10 too high 22 OttoKit: All-in-One Automation Platform 90K+ · 4.9★ (124) wp.org #22 ↑1 23 B BP xProfile Location 500+ · 4.4★ (10) wp.org #21 ↓3 2 too high 24 Activity Feed Anywhere For BuddyBoss 70+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24 ↓2

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.