Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 info”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 2 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

Simple Cookie Notice shows at wp.org #3 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Pixel Manager for WooCommerce – Conversion Tracking, Google Ads, GA4, TikTok, Dynamic Remarketing places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 399 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. 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 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #2 3 iubenda | All-in-one Compliance for GDPR / CCPA Cookie Consent + more 200K+ · 4.7★ (397) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Beautiful Cookie Consent Banner 40K+ · 4.5★ (95) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Cookiebot – Cookie Banner & Cookie Consent for GDPR, CCPA & Google Consent Mode 100K+ · 4.4★ (440) wp.org #10 5 too low 6 Italy Cookie Choices (for EU Cookie Law & Cookie Notice) 9K+ · 4.5★ (35) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #13 6 too low 8 WF Cookie Consent 10K+ · 5.0★ (27) wp.org #8 9 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #12 3 too low 10 WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312) wp.org #17 7 too low 11 Termly – GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 80K+ · 3.6★ (204) wp.org #11 12 Pixel Manager for WooCommerce – Conversion Tracking, Google Ads, GA4, TikTok, Dynamic Remarketing 40K+ · 4.9★ (399) wp.org #22 10 too low 13 Orbit Fox: Duplicate Page, Menu Icons, SVG Support, Cookie Notice, Custom Fonts & More 100K+ · 4.8★ (317) wp.org #16 3 too low 14 Kansleri Cookie Consent 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #7 7 too high 15 Simple Cookie Notice 2K+ · 4.3★ (4) wp.org #3 12 too high 16 Free Cookie Notice & Consent Banner for Privacy Compliance (GDPR, CCPA, DSGVO and others) 7K+ · 4.0★ (16) wp.org #9 7 too high 17 Tracking and Consent Manager – WP Full Picture 3K+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #18 1 too low 18 CookieFox – Cookie Notice 400+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #20 2 too low 19 Cookie Notice & Consent 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #21 2 too low 20 GDPR CCPA Compliance & Cookie Consent Banner 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #23 3 too low 21 Lynbro Cookie Consent 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #14 7 too high 22 Axeptio – Cookie Banner – GDPR Consent & Compliance with a friendly touch 8K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #19 3 too high 23 Apache Status & Info 90+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #15 8 too high 24 Web Pixel Studio Cookie Consent for EU 100+ · 5.0★ (3) 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.