wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “credit”
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 “credit”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 10 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
Rede Itaú for WooCommerce — Payment PIX, Credit Card and Debit shows at wp.org #12 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 9 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 14387 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.
Remove Footer Credit 60K+ · 4.7★ (88) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #1 2 
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821)
wp.org #8 ↑6 6 too low 3 
WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 
Advanced Coupons for WooCommerce – BOGO, Store Credit & WooCommerce Coupons 20K+ · 4.4★ (184)
wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too low 5 
WooCommerce PayPal Payments 800K+ · 2.9★ (583) throws errorsnot PHP-current low rating, top placement
wp.org #2 ↑4 3 too high 6 
Payment Plugins for Stripe WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.8★ (303) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too high 7 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #15 ↓6 8 too low 8 
WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway 700K+ · 3.1★ (237) throws errorsnot PHP-current low rating, top placement
wp.org #3 ↓1 5 too high 9 
Payment Plugins for PayPal WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (127) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #7 ↑16 2 too high 10 
Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7520)
wp.org #18 ↓2 8 too low 11 
Polylang 900K+ · 4.7★ (3003)
wp.org #16 ↑3 5 too low 12 
Image Source Control Lite – Show Image Credits and Captions 3K+ · 4.6★ (42)
wp.org #9 ↓2 3 too high 13 
PDF Invoices & Packing Slips for WooCommerce 300K+ · 5.0★ (1865) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #19 ↓2 6 too low 14 
Stripe Payment Forms by WP Simple Pay – Accept Credit Card Payments + Subscriptions with Stripe 8K+ · 4.4★ (117) not PHP-current
wp.org #13 ↓5 1 too high 15 
Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) not PHP-current
wp.org #22 7 too low 16 
Multibanco, MB WAY, Credit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Payshop, and PIX (ifthenpay) for WooCommerce 8K+ · 5.0★ (21) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #11 ↑10 5 too high 17 
WooPayments: Integrated WooCommerce Payments 800K+ · 3.4★ (177) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #10 ↑3 7 too high 18 
Wallet for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.7★ (188) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #23 5 too low 19 
Stripe Payment Forms by WP Full Pay – Accept Credit Card Payments, Donations & Subscriptions 8K+ · 4.2★ (26)
wp.org #17 ↓2 2 too high 20 
zahls.ch Credit Cards, PostFinance and TWINT for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.9★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #14 ↓4 6 too high 21 
Payment Gateway for PayPal on WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.4★ (73) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #24 3 too low 22 Rede Itaú for WooCommerce — Payment PIX, Credit Card and Debit 1K+ · 4.3★ (9) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #12 ↑10 10 too high 23 
Store credit / Gift cards for woocommerce 100+ · 4.1★ (10) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #20 ↓9 3 too high 24 
CIELO API PIX, credit card, debit payment for WooCommerce 600+ · 4.2★ (5) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↓1 3 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.