Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “consult”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

Autoload Optimizer shows at wp.org #9 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 700+ 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

Download Manager places #4 on merit, 4.1★ from 1006 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Redis Object Cache 500K+ · 4.5★ (179) wp.org #1 2 Quick and Easy FAQs 10K+ · 4.6★ (36) wp.org #2 3 Knowledge Base documentation & wiki plugin – BasePress Docs 2K+ · 4.8★ (75) wp.org #3 4 Download Manager 90K+ · 4.1★ (1006) wp.org #8 ↓1 4 too low 5 Content Visibility for Divi Builder 2K+ · 4.8★ (101) wp.org #7 ↑1 2 too low 6 WPTerm 4K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #4 2 too high 7 WP Frontend Delete Account 4K+ · 4.6★ (27) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too high 8 Property Hive 3K+ · 4.9★ (96) wp.org #11 ↑2 3 too low 9 Auto Alt Text 4K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #5 ↑1 4 too high 10 Translate and boost SEO – Automatic AI translation – wpLingua 2K+ · 4.9★ (33) wp.org #18 ↑1 8 too low 11 CSV Importer 3K+ · 4.2★ (28) wp.org #19 ↑1 8 too low 12 Korea for WooCommerce 300+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #15 ↓1 3 too low 13 Marijuana Age Verify 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #13 ↑2 14 WPC Product Size Chart for WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #14 ↑2 15 Nexi XPay 7K+ · 3.0★ (7) wp.org #10 5 too high 16 Display Post Metadata 400+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #17 1 too low 17 IL Privacy & Cookie Consent 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #12 5 too high 18 Utánvét Ellenőr 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #20 ↑1 2 too low 19 EU Withdrawal Button for WooCommerce 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 ↑2 3 too high 20 Easy Age Verify 1K+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #21 ↑2 1 too low 21 Autoload Optimizer 700+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 12 too high 22 R RuCookie & 152-ФЗ 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 Clone / Duplicate Orders for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Fediverse Embeds 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 2 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.