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

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 “cognito”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

SAML IDP – Login with WordPress Users via SAML SSO shows at wp.org #10 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its — 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

JWT Authentication for WP REST APIs places #5 on merit, 4.4★ from 74 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 signals wp.org

OAuth Single Sign On – SSO (OAuth Client) 6K+ · 4.9★ (327) wp.org #2 1 too low 2

Cognito Forms 2K+ · 4.0★ (19) thin reviews wp.org #1 1 too high 3

SAML IDP (Identity Provider) – Login with Website Users 600+ · 4.8★ (62) wp.org #4 1 too low 4

Bit Flows: AI Agent Automation & Integrations for Forms, CRM, eCommerce, Google Sheets, and More 1K+ · 4.9★ (64) wp.org #7 3 too low 5

JWT Authentication for WP REST APIs 10K+ · 4.4★ (74) wp.org #14 9 too low 6

WP Login and Register using JWT 100+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #6 7

Affiliate Super Assistent 1K+ · 4.6★ (36) wp.org #17 10 too low 8

Login with Cognito 50+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviewslow rating, top placement wp.org #3 5 too high 9 O OAuth client Single Sign On for WordPress ( OAuth 2.0 SSO ) 200+ · 4.1★ (8) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #15 6 too low 10

Gatey – Login & SSO with Amazon Cognito 10+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #5 5 too high 11

SmartCloud Flow – Block‑based Forms & Workflow Automation 10+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #8 ↑1 3 too high 12

SmartCloud AI-Kit – Chatbot and Semantic Search 10+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #9 ↑1 3 too high 13

Raiffeisen Payment Gateway 300+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #16 3 too low 14

SmartCloud Agent Composer — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #11 ↑1 3 too high 15

MUTE – Contact Form Spam Blocker Without CAPTCHA 10+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #19 4 too low 16

SmartCloud Static Publisher 10+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #12 ↑1 4 too high 17

SAML IDP – Login with WordPress Users via SAML SSO — · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #10 ↑1 7 too high 18

Akashic Health Records Patient Portal — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #13 5 too high 19

TWX-Chat – AI Chatbot with Talking Avatars 10+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #18 1 too high 20

Image Plus 10+ · 5.0★ (1) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #20

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.