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

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 “collaborate”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 2 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

Makeiteasy Slider shows at wp.org #13 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Gutenberg Essential Blocks – Page Builder for Gutenberg Blocks & Patterns places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 216 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 MC4WP: Mailchimp for WordPress 1M+ · 4.8★ (1497) wp.org #1 2 3CX Free Live Chat, Calls & Messaging 100K+ · 4.6★ (820) wp.org #2 3 Editorial Calendar 20K+ · 4.9★ (79) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Page Builder: Pagelayer – Drag and Drop website builder 400K+ · 3.9★ (104) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too high 5 Tutor LMS – eLearning and online course solution 100K+ · 4.4★ (590) wp.org #10 ↓3 5 too low 6 Edit Flow 4K+ · 4.2★ (50) wp.org #6 7 Email Templates Customizer and Designer for WordPress and WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.6★ (133) wp.org #12 ↑2 5 too low 8 WP Document Revisions 2K+ · 3.7★ (23) wp.org #5 ↑1 3 too high 9 Gutenberg Essential Blocks – Page Builder for Gutenberg Blocks & Patterns 100K+ · 4.9★ (216) wp.org #18 ↑4 9 too low 10 GlotPress 500+ · 4.7★ (13) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 Crisp – Live Chat and AI Chatbot 20K+ · 4.6★ (73) wp.org #16 ↑1 5 too low 12 WDesignKit – AI Templates, Widget Builder & MCP Workflow 30K+ · 4.8★ (12) wp.org #8 4 too high 13 Form data to kintone 1K+ · 4.9★ (15) wp.org #9 ↑2 4 too high 14 Peter's Post Notes – Admin Notes for Posts and Pages 3K+ · 4.9★ (26) wp.org #15 ↑1 1 too low 15 Smart Grid-Layout Design for Contact Form 7 10K+ · 4.5★ (72) wp.org #14 ↓1 1 too high 16 KeepInMind Dashboard Notes 300+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #11 ↑1 5 too high 17 Connect Polylang for Elementor 100K+ · 4.8★ (51) wp.org #17 ↑1 18 FluentBoards – Project Management, Task Management, Goal Tracking, Kanban Board, and, Team Collaboration 6K+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #22 4 too low 19 SureContact – Newsletters, Email Marketing, Automation, Revenue Tracking & CRM 10K+ · 4.8★ (21) wp.org #21 2 too low 20 Online Booking & Scheduling Calendar by vcita 1K+ · 3.9★ (117) wp.org #20 21 Makeiteasy Slider 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #13 8 too high 22 Git it Write – Write posts from GitHub 100+ · 4.7★ (7) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 Userback 1K+ · 3.6★ (9) wp.org #19 ↑1 4 too high 24 ChimpBridge – Create and Send Mailchimp Campaigns 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↑1 1 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.