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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “calendar posts”

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 “calendar posts”, 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

Sugar Calendar – Events Calendar, Event Tickets, and Events Management Platform shows at wp.org #8 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.5★ average from 24 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Booking Calendar places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 657 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #1 2 My Calendar – Accessible Event Manager 20K+ · 4.7★ (159) wp.org #2 3 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) wp.org #3 ↑1 4 Simple Calendar – Google Calendar Plugin 50K+ · 3.8★ (397) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296) wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too low 6 Editorial Calendar 20K+ · 4.9★ (79) wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too low 7 EventPrime – Events Calendar, Bookings, Tickets & AI 7K+ · 4.4★ (85) wp.org #4 ↓1 3 too high 8 Booking for Appointments and Events Calendar – Amelia 90K+ · 4.6★ (793) wp.org #11 ↑2 3 too low 9 SchedulePress – Auto Post & Publish, Auto Social Share, Schedule Posts with Editorial Calendar & Missed Schedule Post Publisher 10K+ · 4.6★ (201) wp.org #10 1 too low 10 The Events Calendar Shortcode & Block 10K+ · 4.7★ (101) wp.org #9 1 too high 11 Booking Calendar 40K+ · 4.8★ (657) wp.org #19 ↓1 8 too low 12 Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276) wp.org #13 ↑11 1 too low 13 WP Simple Booking Calendar 10K+ · 4.8★ (227) wp.org #12 1 too high 14 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588) wp.org #22 8 too low 15 Registrations for the Events Calendar – Event Registration Plugin 7K+ · 5.0★ (103) wp.org #18 ↓1 3 too low 16 Sugar Calendar – Events Calendar, Event Tickets, and Events Management Platform 10K+ · 4.5★ (24) wp.org #8 8 too high 17 Events Shortcodes For The Events Calendar 10K+ · 4.9★ (214) wp.org #15 ↓4 2 too high 18 Eventin – Events Calendar, Tickets, Registration, Booking & WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (413) wp.org #24 6 too low 19 Events Widgets For Elementor And The Events Calendar 10K+ · 4.5★ (108) wp.org #23 ↓8 4 too low 20 تقویم فارسی – Persian Calendar 3K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #14 6 too high 21 Event Countdown for The Events Calendar 3K+ · 4.6★ (48) wp.org #21 ↓1 22 EventON – Events Calendar 6K+ · 4.1★ (44) wp.org #16 6 too high 23 Calendar 4K+ · 3.7★ (24) wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too high 24 Hydrogen Calendar Embeds 1K+ · 4.5★ (6) 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.