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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “cookie directive”

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 “cookie directive”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 3 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

CookieHub – Cookie Consent Banner (DSGVO, CCPA, RGPD and GDPR compliance) shows at wp.org #14 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 3K+ 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

TermsFeed AutoTerms: Privacy Policy Generator, Cookie Consent, GDPR, CCPA, Terms & Conditions, Disclaimers, Cookies Policy, EULA places #12 on merit, 4.7★ from 246 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 CookieYes – Cookie Banner for Cookie Consent (Easy to setup GDPR/CCPA Compliant Cookie Notice) 1M+ · 4.8★ (3236) wp.org #1 2 GDPR Cookie Compliance – Cookie Banner, Cookie Consent, Cookie Notice for CCPA, EU Cookie Law 300K+ · 4.6★ (205) wp.org #2 3 Cookie Compliance for WordPress – Cookie Consent, GDPR & CCPA 800K+ · 4.8★ (3026) wp.org #3 4 Real Cookie Banner: GDPR & ePrivacy Cookie Consent 100K+ · 4.9★ (492) wp.org #4 ↑1 5 iubenda | All-in-one Compliance for GDPR / CCPA Cookie Consent + more 200K+ · 4.7★ (397) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 FAZ Cookie Manager 3K+ · 5.0★ (30) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too high 7 Cookiebot – Cookie Banner & Cookie Consent for GDPR, CCPA & Google Consent Mode 100K+ · 4.4★ (440) wp.org #9 ↑1 2 too low 8 WPConsent – Cookie Banner & Cookie Consent for Privacy Compliance (GDPR / CCPA / EU Compliance Cookie Notice) 200K+ · 4.8★ (84) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #12 3 too low 10 Termly – GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 80K+ · 3.6★ (204) wp.org #10 ↓1 11 WPLP Cookie Consent – Cookie Banner & Consent Management for GDPR, CCPA & Google Consent Mode 9K+ · 4.6★ (51) wp.org #6 5 too high 12 TermsFeed AutoTerms: Privacy Policy Generator, Cookie Consent, GDPR, CCPA, Terms & Conditions, Disclaimers, Cookies Policy, EULA 70K+ · 4.7★ (246) wp.org #17 5 too low 13 Complianz – Terms and Conditions 300K+ · 4.9★ (187) wp.org #22 9 too low 14 Seers AI | Cookie Consent Banner – GDPR & CCPA Compliant Consent Management Platform 1K+ · 4.7★ (52) wp.org #13 1 too high 15 Privacy Policy Generator, Terms & Conditions, GDPR, CCPA, Cookie Policy & Disclaimer Templates – WPLP Legal Pages 10K+ · 4.7★ (93) wp.org #20 5 too low 16 Free Cookie Notice & Consent Banner for Privacy Compliance (GDPR, CCPA, DSGVO and others) 7K+ · 4.0★ (16) wp.org #11 5 too high 17 Web Pixel Studio Cookie Consent for EU 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #18 1 too low 18 cookie-cat 1K+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #15 3 too high 19 oik 2K+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #23 4 too low 20 CookieHub – Cookie Consent Banner (DSGVO, CCPA, RGPD and GDPR compliance) 3K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 6 too high 21 Kukie – Cookie Consent & Privacy Banner (GDPR, CCPA, DSGVO) 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 5 too high 22 Instant Back/Forward 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 3 too high 23 CCM19 Integration 5K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 oik-privacy-policy 700+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #24

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.