Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “disable adblock”

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 “disable adblock”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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

Popup for Elementor shows at wp.org #5 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 19 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 1.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Social Media Share Buttons & Social Sharing Icons places #6 on merit, 4.8★ from 5333 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups 80K+ · 4.4★ (859) wp.org #3 2 too low 2 ZDN Adblock Detector 100+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1463) wp.org #7 4 too low 4 CHP Ads Block Detector 800+ · 4.0★ (25) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 AdUnblocker 200+ · 4.8★ (32) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 Social Media Share Buttons & Social Sharing Icons 100K+ · 4.8★ (5333) wp.org #21 15 too low 7 Custom Sidebars – Dynamic Sidebar Classic Widget Area Manager 100K+ · 4.7★ (1028) wp.org #20 13 too low 8 BotBlocker Security – Complete security platform 3K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #4 4 too high 9 Popup builder with Gamification, Multi-Step Popups, Page-Level Targeting, and WooCommerce Triggers 70K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #9 10 Eazy Ad Unblocker 100+ · 4.0★ (11) wp.org #10 11 WP AdCenter – Ad Manager & Adsense Ads 900+ · 4.5★ (10) wp.org #12 1 too low 12 Movie Engine – OTT Streaming Platform for Movies & TV Series 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #8 4 too high 13 FV Flowplayer Video Player 10K+ · 4.4★ (90) wp.org #24 11 too low 14 PopCash Code Integration Tool 300+ · 4.0★ (8) wp.org #11 3 too high 15 Adqiro — Ad Blocker Detector — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 1 too high 16 Revenue Shield — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 17 DeBlocker Plus — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 18 CaphLabs – Advanced Ad Blocker Fence — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 19 WPSP Ad Blocker Alert — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 20 Spårlös Analytics: Privacy-Friendly Google Analytics Alternative — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 2 too low 21 DataUnlocker — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 2 too low 22 Watso – Basic Help Chat Button 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 7 too high 23 FV Player 8 1K+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #13 10 too high 24 Popup for Elementor 1K+ · 1.0★ (1) wp.org #5 19 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.