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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “creator monetization”

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 “creator monetization”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

Ko-fi Button shows at wp.org #8 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 5K+ 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

FluentCommunity – Ultra-Fast High-Performance Social Network, Community, LMS & Online Courses places #6 on merit, 4.8★ from 96 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 Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184) wp.org #1 2 Tutor LMS – eLearning and online course solution 100K+ · 4.4★ (590) wp.org #2 3 Creator LMS – WordPress LMS Plugin for Coaches, Cohorts & Course Creators 100+ · 5.0★ (16) wp.org #3 ↑1 4 Kit (formerly ConvertKit) – Email Newsletter, Email Marketing, Membership, Subscribers and Landing Pages 40K+ · 4.8★ (90) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 Web Stories 60K+ · 4.2★ (87) wp.org #10 ↑1 5 too low 6 FluentCommunity – Ultra-Fast High-Performance Social Network, Community, LMS & Online Courses 8K+ · 4.8★ (96) wp.org #13 ↑1 7 too low 7 Publitio 400+ · 5.0★ (41) wp.org #11 ↑1 4 too low 8 Contest Gallery – Upload & Vote Photos, Media, Sell with PayPal & Stripe 1K+ · 4.4★ (89) wp.org #12 ↑1 4 too low 9 CM Tooltip Glossary 7K+ · 4.3★ (157) wp.org #14 ↑1 5 too low 10 Leaky Paywall 600+ · 4.2★ (35) wp.org #9 ↑1 1 too high 11 MicroPayments – Fans Paysite: Paid Creator Subscriptions, Digital Assets, Wallet 10+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #5 ↑1 6 too high 12 GetResponse Official 4K+ · 4.3★ (4) wp.org #4 ↑1 8 too high 13 Vuukle – Comments, Reactions, Quizzes, Share Bar & Ad Revenue 200+ · 4.1★ (35) wp.org #19 ↑1 6 too low 14 WappPress – Convert Site to App Fast – WordPress to Mobile App Builder 1K+ · 3.6★ (39) wp.org #23 9 too low 15 Instaread Audio Player — Text-to-Speech & Article-to-Audio 90+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #15 ↑1 16 iZooto – Web Push Notifications 900+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #18 ↑1 2 too low 17 MediaHaven – Video Gallery, HLS Player & WooCommerce Product Videos 40+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #22 5 too low 18 Buy Me a Coffee – Membership, Paywall & Fundraiser with Stripe & PayPal 90+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #6 ↑2 12 too high 19 AdPresso – The Modern Ad Manager for AdSense, Banners & Ad Tracking 40+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #17 2 too high 20 Broadcast Live Video – Live Streaming : WebRTC, HLS, RTSP, RTMP 300+ · 2.7★ (14) wp.org #21 ↑1 1 too low 21 Ko-fi Button 5K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 ↑1 13 too high 22 Superb Table (SEO Optimized Tables With Schema) 2K+ · 3.6★ (5) wp.org #20 ↑1 2 too high 23 Picture Gallery – Frontend Uploads & Image Editor 400+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #16 ↑8 7 too high 24 Video Share VOD – Turnkey Video Site Builder Script 60+ · 2.3★ (12) 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.