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

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 “classify”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20.

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Cookie Information – Cookie Banner with Consent Mode v2 shows at wp.org #6 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

miniOrange OTP Login, Verification and SMS Notifications places #5 on merit, 4.7★ from 439 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205) wp.org #1 2 CookieYes – Cookie Banner for Cookie Consent (Easy to setup GDPR/CCPA Compliant Cookie Notice) 1M+ · 4.8★ (3236) wp.org #2 3 Smart Grid-Layout Design for Contact Form 7 10K+ · 4.5★ (72) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 BjornTech Accounting Report for WooCommerce 900+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #4 5 miniOrange OTP Login, Verification and SMS Notifications 5K+ · 4.7★ (439) wp.org #14 9 too low 6 Add Custom Codes – Insert Header, Footer, Custom PHP Snippets, CSS, Javascript 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #3 3 too high 7 WP Event Manager – Events Calendar, Registrations, Sell Tickets with WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.0★ (249) wp.org #11 4 too low 8 FAZ Cookie Manager 3K+ · 5.0★ (30) wp.org #9 1 too low 9 ActiveLayer Anti-Spam: Spam Protection for Forms & Comments 10K+ · 4.9★ (10) wp.org #8 1 too high 10 Anti-Spam Protection – No API Key, GDPR Friendly 1K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #12 2 too low 11 Contact Forms by Cimatti 700+ · 4.4★ (16) wp.org #13 2 too low 12 Polski for WooCommerce 60+ · 4.8★ (10) wp.org #15 3 too low 13 Testimonial Customer Feedback 1K+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #7 6 too high 14 Cookie Information – Cookie Banner with Consent Mode v2 2K+ · 3.0★ (4) wp.org #6 8 too high 15 GDPR Compliance & Cookie Consent 4K+ · 2.7★ (10) wp.org #10 5 too high 16 Smalk AI Analytics 40+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #17 1 too low 17 Intigra Disclosio – AI Image and Video Labels for the EU AI Act 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 1 too high 18 EU AI Label 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 19 Consently – Cookie Consent & Compliance 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 3 too low 20 Profound Agent Analytics 200+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 3 too low 21 CQI Referrer Attribution 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 DevDome Redirect Manager: Link Rotator, Geo Redirect & 302 Redirect 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 3 too high 23 DevDome Bot Protection: Bot Blocker and AI Crawler Control 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 3 too high 24 IAEMPOWER AI Compliance — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 3 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.