wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “dba”
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 “dba”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 4 of the top 19.
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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.
Ranked above its merit
Kliken: Ads + Pixel for Meta shows at wp.org #1 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 18 places. Its 30K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Privacy Policy Generator, Terms & Conditions, GDPR, CCPA, Cookie Policy & Disclaimer Templates – WPLP Legal Pages places #1 on merit, 4.7★ from 93 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Privacy Policy Generator, Terms & Conditions, GDPR, CCPA, Cookie Policy & Disclaimer Templates – WPLP Legal Pages 10K+ · 4.7★ (93)
wp.org #14 13 too low 2 
ZenMarkup Privacy Analytics 20+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #2 3 S SQL Executioner 2K+ · 4.6★ (11) closure risk thin reviews
wp.org #16 13 too low 4 
Opinionnaire® Survey analysis and Fast Forum® reports 10+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #3 1 too high 5 
Developersd Visual DB — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviewslow rating, top placement
wp.org #4 1 too high 6 
SellApp 60+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviewslow rating, top placementstale but ranked
wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too high 7 
Sequel 40+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too high 8 
Overl1te Migration SQL — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #7 1 too high 9 
Push Notifications for Trigv — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #8 1 too high 10 
Ads Bot AI dla WC — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #9 1 too high 11 
MiVerto – asystent AI dla sklepów i stron internetowych — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #10 ↑1 1 too high 12 
Minty Orange: Update Old Posts for Google and AI Search — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #11 ↓1 1 too high 13 
Touchsuite Payments — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #12 1 too high 14 
MentorKit LMS: SCORM Courses, Quizzes, Group Management & Certificates — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #13 1 too high 15 I Incorrect Datetime Bug Fix 40+ · 5.0★ (2) closure risk thin reviews
wp.org #18 3 too low 16 
WalkTheWeb 10+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #15 1 too high 17 
Jet Integration for Woocommerce 10+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews
wp.org #17 18 E EasyRotator Social Add-On 10+ · 5.0★ (1) closure risk thin reviews
wp.org #19 1 too low 19 Kliken: Ads + Pixel for Meta 30K+ · 3.0★ (1) thin reviewslow rating, top placement
wp.org #1 18 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.