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

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 “compare”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 17 of the top 20. 5 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

Product Compare for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #4 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 3K+ 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

Spam protection, Honeypot, Anti-Spam by CleanTalk places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 3213 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5008) wp.org #5 4 too low 2 YITH WooCommerce Compare 100K+ · 4.1★ (38) wp.org #2 3 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7507) wp.org #11 8 too low 4 WPC Smart Compare for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.5★ (44) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4121) wp.org #9 ↓1 4 too low 6 Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (185) wp.org #12 6 too low 7 Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder 700K+ · 4.9★ (4508) wp.org #20 ↑1 13 too low 8 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #16 ↑1 8 too low 9 Spam protection, Honeypot, Anti-Spam by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3213) wp.org #24 15 too low 10 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2043) wp.org #22 12 too low 11 WP ULike – Like Buttons, Voting & Engagement Analytics 60K+ · 4.8★ (282) wp.org #21 ↓1 10 too low 12 WCBoost – Products Compare 30K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #1 11 too high 13 Nelio Compare Images Block 300+ · 4.8★ (10) wp.org #10 3 too high 14 Products Compare for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.3★ (18) wp.org #8 ↑1 6 too high 15 Addonify – Compare Products For WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #6 9 too high 16 Before After Image Comparison – Visual Comparison for Two Images 3K+ · 4.2★ (12) wp.org #18 2 too low 17 Wishlist and Compare for WooCommerce 100+ · 4.7★ (7) wp.org #13 4 too high 18 Ever Compare – Products Compare Plugin for WooCommerce 600+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #7 11 too high 19 Product Compare for WooCommerce 3K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 15 too high 20 COMPE – WooCommerce Compare Products 40+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #15 5 too high 21 Sleek Compare 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 2 too low 22 Before After Image Compare — Gutenberg & Elementor 200+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #14 8 too high 23 TwentyTwenty Compare 80+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #19 4 too high 24 WooCommerce Shipping 70K+ · 2.0★ (18) wp.org #17 ↓1 7 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.