Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “cancel”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Order Cancellation & Returns for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #6 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 300+ 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

Paid Membership Subscriptions – Effortless Memberships, Recurring Payments & Content Restriction places #8 on merit, 4.7★ from 270 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 WC Cancel Order 5K+ · 4.9★ (23) wp.org #1 2 PiWeb Cancel order / Refund request for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.8★ (39) wp.org #2 3 Yoast Duplicate Post 3M+ · 4.7★ (538) wp.org #3 4 Return Refund and Exchange For WooCommerce 4K+ · 4.7★ (124) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 JetBackup – Backup, Restore & Migrate 200K+ · 4.5★ (1056) wp.org #14 ↑1 9 too low 6 Easy Appointments 10K+ · 4.3★ (131) wp.org #7 ↑2 1 too low 7 Cancel Abandoned Order 1K+ · 4.8★ (16) wp.org #4 3 too high 8 Paid Membership Subscriptions – Effortless Memberships, Recurring Payments & Content Restriction 10K+ · 4.7★ (270) wp.org #19 ↓1 11 too low 9 Advanced Media Offloader – Offload Media to Amazon S3, Cloudflare R2, DigitalOcean Spaces & More 7K+ · 4.7★ (48) wp.org #11 ↓3 2 too low 10 Booking Activities 3K+ · 5.0★ (121) wp.org #17 7 too low 11 Contact Form 7 – PayPal & Stripe Add-on 7K+ · 4.2★ (125) wp.org #10 ↑1 1 too high 12 WP Import Export Lite 40K+ · 4.0★ (113) wp.org #16 4 too low 13 Subscriptions for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.5★ (180) wp.org #13 14 Mollie Forms 3K+ · 4.1★ (19) wp.org #8 ↓1 6 too high 15 Subscriptions for WooCommerce with Stripe Recurring Payments 1K+ · 4.9★ (25) wp.org #15 ↓1 16 Deposits & Partial Payments for WooCommerce – Bayna 1K+ · 5.0★ (49) wp.org #20 4 too low 17 Salon Booking System – Appointment Booking for Salons, Barbershops & Spas 2K+ · 4.4★ (187) wp.org #24 ↓5 7 too low 18 Accept PayPal & Stripe with Subscriptions for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.8★ (9) wp.org #12 6 too high 19 WebToffee EU Order Withdrawal Button for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #21 ↑1 2 too low 20 Flexible Refund for WooCommerce – EU One Click Return 2K+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #9 ↑1 11 too high 21 BD Courier Order Ratio Checker 2K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #18 ↓2 3 too high 22 WPC Free Shipping Bar for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.2★ (13) wp.org #23 ↑1 1 too low 23 Order Cancellation & Returns for WooCommerce 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 17 too high 24 Auto Cancel On-Hold Orders for WooCommerce 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓1 2 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.