Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 platform”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 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

bpost-shipping-platform shows at wp.org #1 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 500+ 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

Poptin – Email Marketing Automation, Newsletter & Exit Pop Ups, Email Popups places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 701 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 wp.org
1 All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676) wp.org #3 ↑1 2 too low 2 Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty 300K+ · 5.0★ (1244) wp.org #5 ↑1 3 too low 3 Charitable – Donation & Fundraising Platform (Donation Forms, Recurring Donations & Fundraising Campaigns) 10K+ · 4.9★ (219) wp.org #4 ↑3 1 too low 4 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #9 ↑2 5 too low 5 Prime Mover – Backup and Migration 10K+ · 5.0★ (141) wp.org #8 ↑1 3 too low 6 Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder 600K+ · 4.9★ (4514) wp.org #12 ↓2 6 too low 7 BotBlocker Security – Complete security platform 3K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #2 ↑1 5 too high 8 GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #7 ↓2 1 too high 9 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #13 ↑5 4 too low 10 ActiveCampaign – The autonomous marketing platform 40K+ · 4.5★ (29) wp.org #6 ↑2 4 too high 11 Poptin – Email Marketing Automation, Newsletter & Exit Pop Ups, Email Popups 20K+ · 4.9★ (701) wp.org #19 ↑2 8 too low 12 Zotpress 2K+ · 4.9★ (66) wp.org #15 ↓1 3 too low 13 Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots 10K+ · 4.8★ (142) wp.org #20 ↑3 7 too low 14 Broken Link Checker 500K+ · 3.8★ (605) wp.org #11 ↑2 3 too high 15 Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157) wp.org #18 ↑2 3 too low 16 Metricool – Social media and site statistics 90K+ · 4.4★ (22) wp.org #14 ↑5 2 too high 17 Gantry 5 Framework 7K+ · 4.6★ (34) wp.org #17 18 bpost-shipping-platform 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #1 ↑1 17 too high 19 WCPOS – Point of Sale (POS) plugin for WooCommerce 5K+ · 3.7★ (84) wp.org #16 ↓1 3 too high 20 Ultimate Multisite – WordPress Multisite SaaS & WaaS Platform 90+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #21 ↑3 1 too low 21 Device-Based Redirect 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 Image Editor by Pixo 700+ · 3.5★ (10) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 Live Copy Paste for Elementor – Cross Domain Copy Paste & Page Duplicator 6K+ · 4.3★ (3) wp.org #10 ↑2 13 too high 24 Rest API For Cross Platform Support with Gravity Forms 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24

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.