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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “creators api”

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 “creators api”, 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

QR Code Creator shows at wp.org #7 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 1K+ 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

Easy Digital Downloads – eCommerce Payments and Subscriptions made easy places #6 on merit, 4.7★ from 592 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #1 2 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27820) wp.org #2 3 Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #10 6 too low 5 Datafeedr API 4K+ · 4.0★ (13) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 Easy Digital Downloads – eCommerce Payments and Subscriptions made easy 40K+ · 4.7★ (592) wp.org #15 9 too low 7 WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (200) wp.org #13 6 too low 8 Create 6K+ · 4.3★ (25) wp.org #5 3 too high 9 Custom Post Types and Custom Fields creator – WCK 10K+ · 4.7★ (97) wp.org #11 2 too low 10 Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) wp.org #14 4 too low 11 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #16 5 too low 12 CoCart – Headless REST API for WooCommerce 900+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #9 3 too high 13 Coupon Creator 1K+ · 4.3★ (37) wp.org #12 1 too high 14 My Calendar – Accessible Event Manager 20K+ · 4.7★ (159) wp.org #24 10 too low 15 MStore API – Create Native Android & iOS Apps On The Cloud 2K+ · 3.7★ (21) wp.org #8 7 too high 16 Amazing Affiliates – Toolkit for Amazon Associates with Amazon Product Blocks and Amazon PAAPI5 / Creators API integration 500+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #4 12 too high 17 Creator LMS – WordPress LMS Plugin for Coaches, Cohorts & Course Creators 100+ · 5.0★ (16) wp.org #18 1 too low 18 AmaSync – Amazon Affiliate Plugin, Product Importer for WooCommerce 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #17 1 too high 19 Hostinger Reach – AI-Powered Email Marketing for WordPress 1M+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #20 1 too low 20 QR Code Creator 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 13 too high 21 WPRaiz Content API Tool 70+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #23 2 too low 22 Auto Tag Creator – Automatic Tags for Posts and WooCommerce Products 1K+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #19 3 too high 23 AI Content Creator – Easy ChatGPT powered article generator 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 Affiliate Amazon Shortcode 300+ · 5.0★ (2) 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.