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

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 “charity”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 4 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

Inspiro Starter Sites – 20+ Free Demo Templates for Gutenberg & Elementor shows at wp.org #6 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 10K+ 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

The Events Calendar Shortcode & Block places #8 on merit, 4.7★ from 101 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Charitable – Donation & Fundraising Platform (Donation Forms, Recurring Donations & Fundraising Campaigns) 10K+ · 4.9★ (219) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Donation Platform for WooCommerce: Fundraising & Donation Management 7K+ · 4.9★ (99) wp.org #3 ↑2 1 too low 3 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) wp.org #5 ↓2 2 too low 4 Starter Templates: AI-Powered Website Templates for Elementor & Gutenberg 1M+ · 4.9★ (4755) wp.org #9 5 too low 5 GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) wp.org #7 ↑1 2 too low 6 Geolocation IP Detection 20K+ · 4.7★ (59) wp.org #8 ↑2 2 too low 7 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #15 ↓1 8 too low 8 The Events Calendar Shortcode & Block 10K+ · 4.7★ (101) wp.org #17 ↑1 9 too low 9 SKT Templates – 100% Free Templates for Elementor & Gutenberg 20K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #4 5 too high 10 SKT Donation – Charity and Fundraising Plugin 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #1 9 too high 11 CartFlows – Funnel Builder & Checkout Plugin for WooCommerce 200K+ · 4.8★ (517) wp.org #18 ↑2 7 too low 12 Accept Donations with PayPal & Stripe 10K+ · 3.8★ (23) wp.org #10 ↓4 2 too high 13 Doneren met Mollie 4K+ · 4.5★ (23) wp.org #13 ↓1 14 Mega Addons For WPBakery Page Builder 20K+ · 4.2★ (57) wp.org #23 9 too low 15 AidWP – Donation & Payment Forms (Stripe Powered) 800+ · 4.8★ (28) wp.org #22 ↓1 7 too low 16 Gutentools 4K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #12 ↓1 4 too high 17 Tax Exemption for WooCommerce 700+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #14 ↓1 3 too high 18 ELEX WooCommerce Name Your Price 500+ · 4.3★ (8) wp.org #16 ↓1 2 too high 19 Inspiro Starter Sites – 20+ Free Demo Templates for Gutenberg & Elementor 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 ↑1 13 too high 20 FundPress – WordPress Donation Plugin 300+ · 3.8★ (4) wp.org #19 ↓2 1 too high 21 SureDonation – Donation Forms, Fundraising Campaigns & Donor Management 4K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 10 too high 22 Order Tip & Donations for WooCommerce 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24 ↓1 2 too low 23 Zita Site Library for Elementor 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↓2 2 too high 24 Charity Addon for Elementor 1K+ · 2.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↓4 4 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.