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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “calculation shipping”

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 shipping”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 5 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 #10 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 8 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

Product page shipping calculator for WooCommerce places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 77 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Weight Based Shipping Table Rate for WooCommerce – Flexible Shipping 100K+ · 4.9★ (706) wp.org #1 2 Weight Based Shipping for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.6★ (83) wp.org #2 3 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Shipping Live Rates for USPS for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.7★ (30) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 morkva UA Shipping – Nova Poshta, Ukrposhta, Rozetka, Nova Global 1K+ · 4.9★ (29) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Shipping Simulator for WooCommerce 6K+ · 5.0★ (40) wp.org #7 8 Shipping Live Rates for FedEx for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.4★ (27) wp.org #9 1 too low 9 Product page shipping calculator for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.9★ (77) wp.org #20 11 too low 10 Custom Shipping Methods for WooCommerce – Create Weight based Shipping, Conditional Shipping, Table Rate Shipping and much more 3K+ · 4.8★ (18) wp.org #11 1 too low 11 Free Shipping Label and Progress Bar for WooCommerce 5K+ · 5.0★ (43) wp.org #12 1 too low 12 USPS Simple Shipping for Woocommerce 8K+ · 4.4★ (28) wp.org #8 4 too high 13 MultiParcels Shipping For WooCommerce 4K+ · 4.6★ (62) wp.org #19 6 too low 14 Packlink PRO for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.4★ (263) wp.org #24 10 too low 15 Free Shipping Bar: Amount Left for Free Shipping for WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (26) wp.org #22 7 too low 16 Campos Checkout Brasileiro para WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.9★ (45) wp.org #18 2 too low 17 WC – APG Weight Shipping 6K+ · 4.3★ (49) wp.org #15 2 too high 18 WooCommerce Tax (formerly WooCommerce Shipping & Tax) 500K+ · 2.0★ (105) wp.org #10 8 too high 19 Shipping Live rates for Canada Post for WooCommerce 400+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #13 6 too high 20 Shipping Live rates for Australia Post for WooCommerce 400+ · 4.6★ (7) wp.org #21 1 too low 21 Shipping Live Rates for DHL Express for WooCommerce 600+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #16 5 too high 22 Shipping Live Rates for Royal Mail for WooCommerce 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 8 too high 23 Amadast Shipping 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 24 bpost-shipping-platform 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 7 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.