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

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 “collaboration”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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.

A

Ranked above its merit

Action Scheduler shows at wp.org #12 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 20K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.5★ average from 13 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Paid Membership Subscriptions – Effortless Memberships, Recurring Payments & Content Restriction places #8 on merit, 4.7★ from 270 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. 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 #1 ↑2 2 Atarim – AI Agency for WordPress: Edit Pages, Fix Code, Update Plugins, SEO & Client Feedback 1K+ · 4.9★ (126) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 Templately – Elementor & Gutenberg Template Library: 6500+ Free & Pro Ready Templates And Cloud! 300K+ · 5.0★ (383) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Translate WordPress with Weglot 2.0 – Multilingual AI Translation 50K+ · 4.8★ (1940) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 FluentBoards – Project Management, Task Management, Goal Tracking, Kanban Board, and, Team Collaboration 6K+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #3 ↓1 2 too high 6 Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #10 4 too low 7 Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes 300K+ · 4.9★ (491) wp.org #13 ↑10 6 too low 8 Paid Membership Subscriptions – Effortless Memberships, Recurring Payments & Content Restriction 10K+ · 4.7★ (270) wp.org #15 ↑6 7 too low 9 Gutenberg 400K+ · 2.1★ (3888) wp.org #6 ↑3 3 too high 10 FluentCommunity – Ultra-Fast High-Performance Social Network, Community, LMS & Online Courses 8K+ · 4.8★ (96) wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too high 11 Project Manager – AI Powered Project Management, Task Management, Kanban Board & Time Tracker 5K+ · 3.8★ (187) wp.org #14 ↑1 3 too low 12 Multicollab: Content Team Collaboration and Editorial Workflow 300+ · 3.7★ (10) wp.org #4 8 too high 13 Disable Comments 1M+ · 4.7★ (281) wp.org #22 ↓11 9 too low 14 Peter's Post Notes – Admin Notes for Posts and Pages 3K+ · 4.9★ (26) wp.org #16 ↑2 2 too low 15 Automatically Hierarchic Categories in Menu 2K+ · 4.6★ (13) wp.org #11 ↑1 4 too high 16 LazyTasks – Project & Task Management with Collaboration, Kanban and Gantt Chart 90+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #8 ↓2 8 too high 17 Cart Weight for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #17 18 B BuddyPress Docs 6K+ · 4.4★ (35) wp.org #21 ↓5 3 too low 19 Shipping Live Rates for USPS for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.7★ (30) wp.org #24 5 too low 20 StoryChief 1K+ · 4.7★ (14) wp.org #18 ↑1 2 too high 21 A Action Scheduler 20K+ · 3.5★ (13) wp.org #12 ↑2 9 too high 22 MX Time Zone Clocks 1K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #19 ↑1 3 too high 23 Assistant – Every Day Productivity Apps 4K+ · 4.9★ (15) wp.org #23 ↓1 24 WP Document Revisions 2K+ · 3.7★ (23) wp.org #20 ↓3 4 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.