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

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 “consultation”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Cal.com shows at wp.org #10 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.7★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Everest Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form, Quiz, Survey & Custom Form Builder with AI places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 375 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Booking Calendar 40K+ · 4.8★ (657) wp.org #1 2 Simply Schedule Appointments 50K+ · 5.0★ (155) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 Happyforms – Form Builder for WordPress: Drag & Drop Contact Forms, Surveys, Payments & Multipurpose Forms 20K+ · 4.4★ (433) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Timetics – Appointment Booking Calendar & Scheduling 2K+ · 4.6★ (36) wp.org #5 6 Appointment Booking Plugin – LatePoint | Calendar & Scheduling for WordPress 100K+ · 4.9★ (107) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 Everest Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form, Quiz, Survey & Custom Form Builder with AI 90K+ · 4.9★ (375) wp.org #13 6 too low 8 Terms and Conditions Popup for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.9★ (28) wp.org #8 9 Hydra Booking — Appointment Scheduling & Booking Calendar 2K+ · 4.4★ (9) wp.org #4 5 too high 10 Stylish Price List – Price Table Builder & QR Code Restaurant Menu 3K+ · 4.7★ (117) wp.org #15 5 too low 11 CP Contact Form with PayPal 800+ · 3.8★ (65) wp.org #11 12 Jetpack Search 5K+ · 4.5★ (10) wp.org #7 5 too high 13 WPS Bookings for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.5★ (43) wp.org #14 1 too low 14 eRoom – Webinar & Meeting Plugin for Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams 8K+ · 4.1★ (68) wp.org #17 3 too low 15 Booktics – Appointment Booking Calendar for Service Businesses 700+ · 4.2★ (13) wp.org #12 3 too high 16 MeetingHub – Appointment Booking & Meeting Scheduling for Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Webex, Jitsi 400+ · 4.8★ (13) wp.org #23 7 too low 17 Calcurates for WooCommerce 50+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #21 ↓1 4 too low 18 KiviCare – Clinic & Patient Management System (EHR) 1K+ · 3.6★ (23) wp.org #22 4 too low 19 Support WebP – Upload webp files in wordpress without hassle 4K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #19 ↓1 20 Tax Exemption for WooCommerce 700+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #24 4 too low 21 Cal.com 2K+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #10 11 too high 22 WPZOOM Forms – Drag & Drop Contact Form Builder for WordPress 10K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 6 too high 23 Premium Packages – Sell Digital Products Securely 2K+ · 3.8★ (4) wp.org #20 ↑1 3 too high 24 FastBots 1K+ · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #18 ↑1 6 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.