wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “comment voting”
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 “comment voting”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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
Roadmap and Feedback Plugin for WordPress – SimpleBoards shows at wp.org #14 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 30+ 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
Customer Reviews for WooCommerce places #3 on merit, 4.8★ from 1539 reviews, but shows at wp.org #8. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Comments – wpDiscuz 60K+ · 4.7★ (581)
wp.org #1 2 
WP ULike – Like Buttons, Voting & Engagement Analytics 60K+ · 4.8★ (283)
wp.org #2 3 Customer Reviews for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (1539)
wp.org #8 ↑1 5 too low 4 
WP-Polls 40K+ · 4.2★ (136)
wp.org #5 1 too low 5 
Contest Gallery – Upload & Vote Photos, Media, Sell with PayPal & Stripe 1K+ · 4.4★ (89)
wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too low 6 
ePoll – Contest Poll Survey & Voting 1K+ · 3.9★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #3 3 too high 7 
Disqus Comment System 30K+ · 2.7★ (219) low rating, top placement
wp.org #4 3 too high 8 
Democracy Poll 6K+ · 4.6★ (86)
wp.org #7 ↑1 1 too high 9 
Gwolle Guestbook 20K+ · 4.8★ (113)
wp.org #9 ↓3 10 
Like Button Rating ♥ LikeBtn 3K+ · 4.4★ (273)
wp.org #10 11 
W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420)
wp.org #16 5 too low 12 
IdeaPush 700+ · 4.5★ (31)
wp.org #11 1 too high 13 
Quiz Maker, Poll Maker & Survey Maker by Opinion Stage 6K+ · 4.4★ (277)
wp.org #22 ↓2 9 too low 14 
Stars Rating 1K+ · 4.7★ (23) thin reviews
wp.org #13 1 too high 15 
EazyDocs – AI Powered Knowledge Base, Wiki, Documentation & FAQ Builder 2K+ · 4.7★ (100)
wp.org #21 ↓3 6 too low 16 
CM Answers – Discussion Forum Plugin for WordPress Q&A 300+ · 3.8★ (86)
wp.org #15 ↓1 1 too high 17 
ReviewX – Multi-Criteria Reviews for WooCommerce with Google Reviews & Schema 6K+ · 4.5★ (85)
wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too low 18 
Happy FAQs – FAQ, Product FAQ & Help Center 1K+ · 4.8★ (23) thin reviews
wp.org #18 19 
I Recommend This – Love/Like Button for WordPress Posts 4K+ · 4.7★ (38)
wp.org #24 ↓2 5 too low 20 
SweepWidget – Giveaway, Contest, Sweepstakes, Competition & Photo Contest Plugin 100+ · 4.3★ (14) thin reviews
wp.org #19 ↓2 1 too high 21 
Crowdsignal Dashboard – Polls, Surveys & more 200K+ · 2.7★ (34)
wp.org #12 9 too high 22 
ZenCommunity – Community, Forum, Social Network, Chat & Support Tickets 30+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #17 5 too high 23 
Post Engagement – Like Dislike, Share, Views, Star Rating, Favorites & Copy Posts 30+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #23 ↓2 24 Roadmap and Feedback Plugin for WordPress – SimpleBoards 30+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #14 ↑1 10 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.