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

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 “chosen”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

Better Block Editor (BBE) shows at wp.org #9 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 6K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 11 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Koko Analytics – Privacy-Friendly WordPress Analytics places #11 on merit, 5.0★ from 245 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Advanced Editor Tools 1M+ · 4.5★ (354) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 Remove Dashboard Access 30K+ · 4.6★ (78) wp.org #4 5 WP Chosen 70+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #1 4 too high 6 WP Reset 300K+ · 4.8★ (1014) wp.org #11 ↓1 5 too low 7 Language Fallback 5K+ · 4.8★ (23) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 Category Order and Taxonomy Terms Order 500K+ · 4.5★ (162) wp.org #8 ↓1 9 Solid Mail – SMTP email and logging made by SolidWP 60K+ · 4.2★ (52) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too high 10 AI Puffer – AI Chatbot & MCP Server for Claude and ChatGPT 10K+ · 4.6★ (166) wp.org #13 3 too low 11 Koko Analytics – Privacy-Friendly WordPress Analytics 70K+ · 5.0★ (245) wp.org #21 10 too low 12 P Page Links To 100K+ · 4.9★ (157) wp.org #19 ↓4 7 too low 13 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #24 ↓1 11 too low 14 XPoster – Share to Bluesky and Mastodon 10K+ · 3.8★ (69) wp.org #12 ↓1 2 too high 15 WordPress Importer 2M+ · 3.1★ (327) wp.org #10 ↓1 5 too high 16 WP User Avatars 20K+ · 4.5★ (29) wp.org #14 ↓2 2 too high 17 Better Block Editor (BBE) 6K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #9 ↓1 8 too high 18 Back In Stock Notifier for WooCommerce | WooCommerce Waitlist Pro 20K+ · 4.7★ (122) wp.org #17 1 too high 19 WP Term Order 6K+ · 4.8★ (20) wp.org #18 ↓2 1 too high 20 WPC Linked Variation for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #16 ↓2 4 too high 21 Hide Categories and Products for Woocommerce 10K+ · 4.1★ (29) wp.org #23 ↓4 2 too low 22 ELEX WooCommerce Discount Per Payment Method 1K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #20 ↓2 2 too high 23 User Profile Picture – Custom Local Avatars 4K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 ↑2 8 too high 24 PayU GPO Payment for WooCommerce 10K+ · 3.7★ (6) wp.org #22 ↓2 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.