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

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 “compensation”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 4 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

AI Rights Protection by SimpleFeed shows at wp.org #17 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 4 places. Its — 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Australia Post WooCommerce Extension 3K+ · 4.4★ (19) wp.org #2 ↑1 1 too low 2 MWW Disclaimer Buttons 400+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too low 3 Disclaimify – Affiliate Disclosure / Disclaimer for WordPress 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 FundPress – WordPress Donation Plugin 300+ · 3.8★ (4) wp.org #4 5 Store credit / Gift cards for woocommerce 100+ · 4.1★ (10) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 EchoRewards – Refer a Friend Rewards Program for WooCommerce 300+ · 3.9★ (8) wp.org #9 ↓1 3 too low 7 Shipping Live Rates for Royal Mail for WooCommerce 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 B Beltoft Gift Cards for WooCommerce 40+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 2 too high 9 Senthor – Protect Against AI Crawlers 10+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #10 1 too low 10 Binary MLM For WooCommerce 10+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #11 1 too low 11 Binary MLM Plan 10+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #8 ↑1 3 too high 12 o_OKak Staff Commission — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 13 SL Gift Cards & Store Credits — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 1 too low 14 Kodefix Sticky Bar — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 1 too low 15 Customer Wallet & Loyalty Points for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too low 16 AFFI – Affiliate Marketing for WooCommerce 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 3 too high 17 FlyHR: HR Management & Leave Management, Unlimited Employees — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓1 1 too low 18 Chimpjar Accessibility Toolbar — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too low 19 B Bizetools Testimonials Manager — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too low 20 CMAA Recruit — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓1 1 too low 21 AI Rights Protection by SimpleFeed — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too high 22 CrushEdge Orphaned Upload Cleaner — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 23 CrawlerToll — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓1 24 ImgChanger — AI Image Replacement — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓1

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.