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

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 border”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 4 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

Bayarcash WooCommerce shows at wp.org #2 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 18 places. Its 700+ 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

OoohBoi Steroids for Elementor places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 118 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Advanced Shipment Tracking for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.5★ (355) wp.org #1 2 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too low 3 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too low 5 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 ShopEngine – All-in-One Elementor WooCommerce Builder with eCommerce Templates & Woo Widgets 100K+ · 4.6★ (212) wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too low 7 Unlimited Elements for Elementor 300K+ · 4.8★ (525) wp.org #9 ↓2 2 too low 8 Variation Swatches for WooCommerce – Color, Image & Size Swatches 200K+ · 4.6★ (51) wp.org #5 ↓1 3 too high 9 Pricing Table by Supsystic – Responsive Pricing Plans & Comparison Tables 10K+ · 4.1★ (288) wp.org #13 ↓1 4 too low 10 OoohBoi Steroids for Elementor 40K+ · 4.8★ (118) wp.org #18 ↑2 8 too low 11 Mailonix – Email Template Customizer for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.6★ (105) wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too high 12 WCFM Marketplace – Multivendor Marketplace for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.6★ (449) wp.org #15 3 too low 13 Variation Swatches for WooCommerce 8K+ · 4.9★ (86) wp.org #14 ↓3 1 too low 14 Variation Swatches for WooCommerce 300K+ · 4.8★ (926) wp.org #21 7 too low 15 Variation Swatches for WooCommerce 9K+ · 4.7★ (55) wp.org #20 ↓1 5 too low 16 European VAT Compliance Assistant for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.8★ (26) wp.org #16 17 Swatchly – Product Variation Swatches for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.5★ (29) wp.org #22 ↓1 5 too low 18 WCMultiShipping — Mondial Relay, Inpost & Chronopost for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.9★ (33) wp.org #24 ↓11 6 too low 19 Sizor Product Size Chart For WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.3★ (32) wp.org #19 ↓5 20 Bayarcash WooCommerce 700+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 ↓1 18 too high 21 VK Blocks 100K+ · 4.8★ (6) wp.org #17 ↑1 4 too high 22 Ninja Charts – Interactive Charts and Graphs 3K+ · 3.0★ (6) wp.org #23 ↓1 1 too low 23 Flywire for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 ↑12 12 too high 24 Paydibs Gateway for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↓2 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.