wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “calculation”
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 “calculation”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 7 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
WooCommerce Tax (formerly WooCommerce Shipping & Tax) shows at wp.org #12 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 500K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.0★ average from 105 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Weight Based Shipping Table Rate for WooCommerce – Flexible Shipping places #6 on merit, 4.9★ from 706 reviews, but shows at wp.org #11. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143)
wp.org #1 2 
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #3 1 too low 3 
WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #2 1 too high 4 
Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397)
wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5 
Calculated Fields Form – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact, Payment, Quote, Quiz & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (973)
wp.org #9 ↓2 4 too low 6 Weight Based Shipping Table Rate for WooCommerce – Flexible Shipping 100K+ · 4.9★ (706)
wp.org #11 5 too low 7 
Calculation for contact form 7 1K+ · 4.5★ (22) thin reviews
wp.org #4 3 too high 8 
Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery 300K+ · 4.3★ (4342) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #10 2 too low 9 
Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807)
wp.org #13 ↓1 4 too low 10 
Product Options and Price Calculation Formulas for WooCommerce – Uni CPO 1K+ · 4.6★ (79) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #6 ↓1 4 too high 11 
MetForm – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Conditional Forms, Form Templates & Custom Form Builder for Elementor 500K+ · 4.7★ (509) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #8 3 too high 12 
Germanized for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.8★ (496)
wp.org #16 ↓2 4 too low 13 
Advanced Product Fields (Product Addons) for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.8★ (284)
wp.org #17 ↓4 4 too low 14 
Dynamic Month & Year into Posts 8K+ · 5.0★ (18) thin reviews
wp.org #15 1 too low 15 
morkva UA Shipping – Nova Poshta, Ukrposhta, Rozetka, Nova Global 1K+ · 4.9★ (29)
wp.org #19 4 too low 16 
Create 6K+ · 4.3★ (25)
wp.org #14 2 too high 17 
Shipping Live Rates for USPS for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.7★ (30)
wp.org #22 5 too low 18 
Cost Calculator for Contact Form 7 – Price Calculator Free 5K+ · 3.8★ (15) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #7 ↑2 11 too high 19 
E-cab Taxi Booking Manager for Woocommerce 2K+ · 4.9★ (28)
wp.org #24 ↓3 5 too low 20 
Easy Booking – WooCommerce Booking & Reservation Plugin 4K+ · 4.7★ (63) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #21 1 too low 21 
Custom Shipping Methods for WooCommerce – Create Weight based Shipping, Conditional Shipping, Table Rate Shipping and much more 3K+ · 4.8★ (18) thin reviews
wp.org #23 ↓4 2 too low 22 
Afterpay Gateway for WooCommerce 10K+ · 3.6★ (45) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #18 4 too high 23 
Yoast Test Helper 50K+ · 4.9★ (12) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #20 ↓4 3 too high 24 WooCommerce Tax (formerly WooCommerce Shipping & Tax) 500K+ · 2.0★ (105) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #12 ↑6 12 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.