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

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 “difference”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20.

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

Advanced H2H for SportsPress shows at wp.org #12 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

SportsPress – Sports Club & League Manager places #10 on merit, 4.7★ from 369 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 MainWP Dashboard: Self-hosted WordPress Management for Agencies 20K+ · 4.9★ (2354) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 bbPress 100K+ · 3.9★ (343) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157) wp.org #3 4 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641) wp.org #5 6 YITH WooCommerce Compare 100K+ · 4.1★ (38) wp.org #4 2 too high 7 TI WooCommerce Wishlist 100K+ · 4.7★ (503) wp.org #14 7 too low 8 WP Downgrade | Specific Core Version 100K+ · 4.8★ (169) wp.org #13 5 too low 9 Advanced Shipment Tracking for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.5★ (355) wp.org #15 6 too low 10 SportsPress – Sports Club & League Manager 10K+ · 4.7★ (369) wp.org #18 8 too low 11 Markup by Attribute for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.5★ (28) wp.org #8 3 too high 12 WPC Smart Compare for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.5★ (44) wp.org #11 1 too high 13 A authLdap 4K+ · 5.0★ (19) wp.org #9 4 too high 14 WPMR Google Feed Manager for WooCommerce – Sell on Google Merchant Center & Shopping 10K+ · 4.5★ (127) wp.org #16 2 too low 15 QuadMenu – Mega Menu 10K+ · 4.5★ (270) wp.org #22 7 too low 16 Before After Image Comparison – Visual Comparison for Two Images 3K+ · 4.2★ (12) wp.org #7 9 too high 17 B Bulglish Permalinks 3K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #10 7 too high 18 AccessiYes Accessibility Widget for ADA, EAA & WCAG Readiness 20K+ · 4.8★ (36) wp.org #21 3 too low 19 MX Time Zone Clocks 1K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #17 2 too high 20 NinjaScanner – Virus & Malware scan 40K+ · 4.0★ (36) wp.org #23 3 too low 21 Link in Bio Creator – Social 2K+ · 4.3★ (21) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 Advanced H2H for SportsPress 200+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #12 10 too high 23 Weaver Show Posts 5K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 ThemeHunk Product Compare for WooCommerce 3K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 5 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.