Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “chooser”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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

CBX Tour – User Walkthroughs & Guided Tours shows at wp.org #9 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 40+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Insert PHP Code Snippet places #5 on merit, 4.9★ from 707 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Font Awesome 400K+ · 3.6★ (61) wp.org #1 2 SureCart – Ecommerce Made Easy For Selling Physical Products, Digital Downloads, Subscriptions, Donations, & Payments 80K+ · 4.8★ (288) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Event Tickets with Ticket Scanner 1K+ · 4.8★ (24) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Fast eBay Listings 400+ · 4.5★ (18) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Insert PHP Code Snippet 90K+ · 4.9★ (707) wp.org #24 ↓1 19 too low 6 N NextGEN Gallery Image Chooser 200+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #2 4 too high 7 Advanced Custom Fields: Font Awesome Field 90K+ · 4.9★ (36) wp.org #23 ↓1 16 too low 8 GDPR tools: Cookie notice + privacy 5K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #19 ↑1 11 too low 9 BundleBoss – Product Bundles, Mix and Match & Build a Box for WooCommerce 90+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 1 too low 10 Eventin Addon for Elementor 200+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 Image Chooser Block for NextGEN Gallery 60+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #5 6 too high 12 JAD Bank Receipt Upload for WooCommerce 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 13 SuperQuest 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↑1 14 Open Access SSO 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↓1 15 Lightshare – Social & AI Share Buttons 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 4 too high 16 Timebasket Delivery & Pickup Scheduler for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↑1 17 KAAAH Car Finder — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↑1 18 Terovania Game Marketing Widgets for Steam® 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓2 19 Anonindo UPI One-Click Checkout for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too low 20 Lagersystem.dk: Parcelpickup locator for Woocommerce 30+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #8 ↑1 12 too high 21 qTrad — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 22 looch Pay for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓1 23 CBX Tour – User Walkthroughs & Guided Tours 40+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #9 ↓1 14 too high 24 Advanced Custom Fields: Multiple Coordinates 10+ · 2.3★ (4) wp.org #15 9 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.