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

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 “cross”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

Cross Domain Tracker for AffiliateWP shows at wp.org #6 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 1680 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) not PHP-current wp.org #2 ↑1 1 too low 2

All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676) wp.org #3 ↓1 4

Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #5 ↑6 1 too low 5

Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder 600K+ · 4.9★ (4514) wp.org #11 ↓3 6 too low 6

Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #10 ↑7 4 too low 7

GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #7 8

ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #14 ↑4 6 too low 9

Side Cart Woocommerce | Woocommerce Cart 70K+ · 4.9★ (453) wp.org #17 ↓3 8 too low 10

Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #19 ↑3 9 too low 11

Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #18 ↑5 7 too low 12

ShopEngine – All-in-One Elementor WooCommerce Builder with eCommerce Templates & Woo Widgets 100K+ · 4.6★ (212) wp.org #16 4 too low 13

Upsell Funnel Builder for WooCommerce – Create Upsells, Cross-Sells, Order Bumps, Frequently Bought, and Popups. 2K+ · 4.7★ (116) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #9 ↑1 4 too high 14

AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874) wp.org #24 10 too low 15

All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #23 ↑1 8 too low 16

HTTP Headers 40K+ · 4.3★ (70) wp.org #15 1 too high 17

Doubly – Cross Domain Copy Paste for WordPress 10K+ · 4.4★ (14) thin reviews wp.org #12 ↓3 5 too high 18

Sliding Cart for WooCommerce by FunnelKit – Skip Cart & Reach WooCommerce Checkout Faster 30K+ · 5.0★ (111) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #22 ↓1 4 too low 19 Z zipaddr-jp 50K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too low 20

Live Copy Paste for Elementor – Cross Domain Copy Paste & Page Duplicator 6K+ · 4.3★ (3) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #4 16 too high 21

SaffireTech Bulk Edit Upsells and Cross-Sells for WooCommerce 200+ · 4.2★ (10) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too high 22

WPC Smart Linked Products – Upsells & Cross-sells for WooCommerce 600+ · 5.0★ (2) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #8 ↓2 14 too high 23

Cross Domain Tracker for AffiliateWP 200+ · 3.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #6 ↓1 17 too high 24

Basic Security: Prevent Cross Site Scripting 200+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #13 ↓1 11 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.