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← Rankings

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

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 “consent”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 4 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

WP Consent API shows at wp.org #2 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 200K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

iubenda | All-in-one Compliance for GDPR / CCPA Cookie Consent + more places #9 on merit, 4.7★ from 397 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1668) wp.org #1 2 CookieYes – Cookie Banner for Cookie Consent (Easy to setup GDPR/CCPA Compliant Cookie Notice) 1M+ · 4.8★ (3236) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too low 3 Cookie Compliance for WordPress – Cookie Consent, GDPR & CCPA 800K+ · 4.8★ (3026) wp.org #6 ↓1 3 too low 4 GDPR Cookie Compliance – Cookie Banner, Cookie Consent, Cookie Notice for CCPA, EU Cookie Law 300K+ · 4.6★ (205) wp.org #8 ↓2 4 too low 5 WPLP Cookie Consent – Cookie Banner & Consent Management for GDPR, CCPA & Google Consent Mode 9K+ · 4.6★ (51) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too high 6 Real Cookie Banner: GDPR & ePrivacy Cookie Consent 100K+ · 4.9★ (492) wp.org #10 4 too low 7 Beautiful Cookie Consent Banner 40K+ · 4.5★ (95) wp.org #9 ↓1 2 too low 8 Cookiebot – Cookie Banner & Cookie Consent for GDPR, CCPA & Google Consent Mode 100K+ · 4.4★ (440) wp.org #13 ↑1 5 too low 9 iubenda | All-in-one Compliance for GDPR / CCPA Cookie Consent + more 200K+ · 4.7★ (397) wp.org #15 ↓2 6 too low 10 WPConsent – Cookie Banner & Cookie Consent for Privacy Compliance (GDPR / CCPA / EU Compliance Cookie Notice) 200K+ · 4.8★ (84) wp.org #14 ↓3 4 too low 11 WF Cookie Consent 10K+ · 5.0★ (27) wp.org #11 ↓2 12 Pressidium Cookie Consent 10K+ · 4.7★ (40) wp.org #12 ↑6 13 Termly – GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 80K+ · 3.6★ (204) wp.org #17 ↓2 4 too low 14 Kansleri Cookie Consent 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #7 ↑5 7 too high 15 SureCookie – GDPR Cookie Consent Banner, Cookie Scanner & Script Blocking 70K+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #16 1 too low 16 GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #23 ↓6 7 too low 17 WP Consent API 200K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #2 15 too high 18 Seers AI | Cookie Consent Banner – GDPR & CCPA Compliant Consent Management Platform 1K+ · 4.7★ (52) wp.org #24 6 too low 19 CookieAdmin – Cookie Consent Banner 400K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #5 ↑2 14 too high 20 Free Cookie Notice & Consent Banner for Privacy Compliance (GDPR, CCPA, DSGVO and others) 7K+ · 4.0★ (16) wp.org #22 2 too low 21 Termageddon: Cookie Consent & Privacy Compliance 8K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #21 ↑1 22 Record of Consent Extension for Complianz 700+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #18 ↑1 4 too high 23 Cookiez – GDPR & CCPA Cookie Banner & Consent Manager 50K+ · 4.3★ (4) wp.org #20 ↑1 3 too high 24 GetTerms Cookie Consent & Policies 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↑1 5 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.