wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “combination”
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 “combination”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 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
Google for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #7 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 800K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.7★ average from 268 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Website Builder by SeedProd — Theme Builder, Landing Page Builder, Coming Soon Page, Maintenance Mode places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 4699 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Polylang 900K+ · 4.7★ (3004)
wp.org #2 1 too low 2 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #3 1 too low 3 
WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209)
wp.org #5 ↑1 2 too low 4 
Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641)
wp.org #4 5 
Slider, Gallery, and Carousel by MetaSlider – Image Slider, Video Slider 500K+ · 4.6★ (743)
wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too low 6 
Ultimate Order Combination 300+ · 3.8★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #1 5 too high 7 
Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205)
wp.org #9 2 too low 8 
HUSKY – Products Filter for WooCommerce Professional. MCP is onboard 80K+ · 4.6★ (337)
wp.org #8 9 
WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617)
wp.org #10 1 too low 10 
Media Library Assistant 70K+ · 4.8★ (202)
wp.org #11 ↑1 1 too low 11 
Post Type Switcher 200K+ · 4.8★ (255)
wp.org #12 ↓1 1 too low 12 Website Builder by SeedProd — Theme Builder, Landing Page Builder, Coming Soon Page, Maintenance Mode 600K+ · 4.9★ (4699)
wp.org #19 ↑1 7 too low 13 
BEAR – Bulk Editor for WooCommerce Professional. AI assistant on board (MCP Server) 30K+ · 4.7★ (228)
wp.org #13 14 
MaxButtons – Create buttons 70K+ · 4.9★ (1093)
wp.org #22 8 too low 15 
Image Hover Effects – Elementor Addon 40K+ · 4.9★ (83)
wp.org #17 ↓1 2 too low 16 
Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397)
wp.org #24 8 too low 17 
BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55)
wp.org #15 ↑2 2 too high 18 Google for WooCommerce 800K+ · 2.7★ (268)
wp.org #7 ↓2 11 too high 19 
Search & Filter 40K+ · 4.5★ (175)
wp.org #23 4 too low 20 
Manage Notification E-mails 100K+ · 4.8★ (56)
wp.org #20 ↓1 21 
Extra Fees for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.3★ (42)
wp.org #14 7 too high 22 
Inline Related Posts 100K+ · 4.3★ (77)
wp.org #21 1 too high 23 
Themify – WooCommerce Product Filter 20K+ · 3.5★ (72)
wp.org #18 5 too high 24 
Power Coupons for WooCommerce 30K+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↓1 8 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.