Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “degree”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

360 Product Viewer for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #9 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 300+ 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

SupportCandy – AI Customer Support Ticket System & Live Chatbot Agent places #6 on merit, 4.9★ from 289 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #2 ↑1 1 too low 2 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too low 3 Easy Digital Downloads – eCommerce Payments and Subscriptions made easy 40K+ · 4.7★ (591) wp.org #8 5 too low 4 SearchWP Live Ajax Search 40K+ · 4.7★ (36) wp.org #4 5 We’re Open! 5K+ · 5.0★ (45) wp.org #5 6 SupportCandy – AI Customer Support Ticket System & Live Chatbot Agent 10K+ · 4.9★ (289) wp.org #13 ↑2 7 too low 7 HubSpot All-In-One Marketing – Forms, Popups, Live Chat 200K+ · 4.3★ (207) wp.org #12 ↓1 5 too low 8 360 Javascript Viewer 1K+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #6 2 too high 9 HappyAddons for Elementor – 160 Elementor Widgets, GSAP Animations & Templates 400K+ · 4.8★ (489) wp.org #11 ↑1 2 too low 10 WPVR – 360 Panorama viewer and Virtual Tour Builder for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (133) wp.org #15 ↓1 5 too low 11 Image Optimizer, Resizer and CDN – Sirv 1K+ · 4.9★ (265) wp.org #14 ↓1 3 too low 12 iPanorama 360 – Advanced Virtual Tour Builder 4K+ · 4.5★ (31) wp.org #10 2 too high 13 Mail Mint – Email Marketing, Automation & WooCommerce Emails with AI Assistance 4K+ · 4.7★ (125) wp.org #19 ↑5 6 too low 14 Panorama Block – immerse visitors in 360 degree views 700+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #1 13 too high 15 Location Weather – WordPress Weather Forecast, Air Quality & Weather Widget 10K+ · 4.5★ (103) wp.org #20 ↓1 5 too low 16 Panorama – Turn Photos into Immersive Virtual Tours 2K+ · 4.3★ (9) wp.org #7 9 too high 17 Xpro Addons — 150+ Widgets for Elementor 40K+ · 4.4★ (28) wp.org #17 18 Dynamic User Directory 1K+ · 4.8★ (38) wp.org #21 ↓1 3 too low 19 Porsline 300+ · 4.9★ (9) wp.org #16 3 too high 20 HIPAA Forms 800+ · 4.3★ (9) wp.org #18 ↑5 2 too high 21 Simple Location 300+ · 4.6★ (8) wp.org #24 ↓6 3 too low 22 NPS computy 50+ · 4.8★ (5) wp.org #23 ↓1 1 too low 23 360 Product Viewer for WooCommerce 300+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #9 14 too high 24 Xpro Slider For Beaver Builder – Lite 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 ↓1 2 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.