wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “comparison block”

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 “comparison block”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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

WBD Pricing Tables – Gutenberg Pricing Table & Comparison Block shows at wp.org #11 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 200+ 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

SimpleTOC – Table of Contents Block places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 77 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks 1M+ · 4.7★ (1872) heavy footprint wp.org #1 2

Otter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder for Gutenberg Editor & FSE 300K+ · 4.7★ (251) heavy footprint wp.org #2 3

TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625) wp.org #5 ↑1 2 too low 4

Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) heavy footprint wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too high 5

Gutenberg Essential Blocks – Page Builder for Gutenberg Blocks & Patterns 100K+ · 4.9★ (216) heavy footprint wp.org #7 2 too low 6

Nexter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder & AI Website Builder 9K+ · 4.8★ (90) heavy footprint wp.org #6 ↑6 7

Spectra Blocks – AI Website Builder for the Block Editor 60K+ · 4.6★ (53) heavy footprint wp.org #8 ↓3 1 too low 8

Datafeedr Comparison Sets 3K+ · 5.0★ (10) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #4 ↓1 4 too high 9

SimpleTOC – Table of Contents Block 10K+ · 4.9★ (77) wp.org #23 14 too low 10

Greenshift – animation and page builder blocks 70K+ · 4.8★ (107) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #19 9 too low 11

Content Egg – Affiliate Product Importer & Price Comparison 10K+ · 3.9★ (56) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #12 ↓1 1 too low 12

GutenBee – Gutenberg Blocks 6K+ · 4.9★ (18) thin reviews wp.org #18 ↓1 6 too low 13

GutenKit – Page Builder Blocks, Patterns, and Templates for Gutenberg Block Editor 80K+ · 4.5★ (48) heavy footprint wp.org #22 ↓2 9 too low 14

Video Player Block – play videos beautifully on any device 2K+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews wp.org #14 ↑1 15

Easy Tabs Block – Smart, Lightweight & Responsive Tabs for the Block Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #10 ↓1 5 too high 16

Before After Image Comparison – Visual Comparison for Two Images 3K+ · 4.2★ (12) thin reviews wp.org #15 ↓1 1 too high 17

Table Of Contents Block 10K+ · 4.3★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #9 ↓1 8 too high 18

RioVizual — Table Blocks for Comparison, Pricing and Pros & Cons 1K+ · 4.6★ (12) thin reviews wp.org #16 2 too high 19

Chart Block – Visualize Data with Bar, Line, Pie Charts 1K+ · 4.8★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #20 ↑2 1 too low 20

Animated Text Block – Add Typing and Looping Text Effects 4K+ · 4.8★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #24 4 too low 21

Image Gallery Block 4K+ · 4.2★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #21 22

WBD Pricing Tables – Gutenberg Pricing Table & Comparison Block 200+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #11 ↓1 11 too high 23

Flexa Block – Blocks & Page Builder 1K+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #17 ↑1 6 too high 24

Image Comparison 300+ · 2.3★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #13 11 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.