wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “credits”

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 “credits”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 5 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

Image Credits nofollow shows at wp.org #12 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.5★ average from 2 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 #4 on merit, 4.8★ from 14387 reviews, but shows at wp.org #10. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

WooCommerce PayPal Payments 800K+ · 2.9★ (583) throws errorsnot PHP-current low rating, top placement wp.org #1 ↑6 2

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #7 ↑3 5 too low 3

WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #3 ↓1 4

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #10 ↓4 6 too low 5

Payment Plugins for Stripe WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.8★ (303) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #5 ↓1 6

WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway 700K+ · 3.1★ (237) throws errorsnot PHP-current low rating, top placement wp.org #2 ↓1 4 too high 7

Remove Footer Credit 60K+ · 4.7★ (88) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #4 ↓1 3 too high 8

Polylang 900K+ · 4.7★ (3004) wp.org #11 ↑5 3 too low 9

Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #13 4 too low 10

Advanced Coupons for WooCommerce – BOGO, Store Credit & WooCommerce Coupons 20K+ · 4.4★ (184) wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too high 11

Image Source Control Lite – Show Image Credits and Captions 3K+ · 4.6★ (42) wp.org #6 ↓1 5 too high 12

PDF Invoices & Packing Slips for WooCommerce 300K+ · 5.0★ (1865) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #15 ↓1 3 too low 13

Easy Digital Downloads – eCommerce Payments and Subscriptions made easy 40K+ · 4.7★ (591) wp.org #24 11 too low 14

Payment Plugins for PayPal WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (127) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #14 15

Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) not PHP-current wp.org #17 2 too low 16

WooPayments: Integrated WooCommerce Payments 800K+ · 3.4★ (177) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #8 ↑3 8 too high 17

Wallet for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.7★ (188) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #20 ↓2 3 too low 18

Stripe Payment Forms by WP Simple Pay – Accept Credit Card Payments + Subscriptions with Stripe 8K+ · 4.4★ (117) not PHP-current wp.org #23 ↓3 5 too low 19

Print Invoice & Delivery Notes for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.4★ (140) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #21 ↓6 2 too low 20

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 #18 2 too high 21

zahls.ch Credit Cards, PostFinance and TWINT for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.9★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #19 ↓2 2 too high 22

Google for WooCommerce 800K+ · 2.7★ (268) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #22 ↓13 23

Rede Itaú for WooCommerce — Payment PIX, Credit Card and Debit 1K+ · 4.3★ (9) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #16 7 too high 24

Image Credits nofollow 100+ · 3.5★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #12 12 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.