wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “donation addon”
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 “donation addon”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 6 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
Donation Addon WooCommerce shows at wp.org #9 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 10+ 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
YayMail – WooCommerce Email Customizer places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 291 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #2 1 too low 2 
GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #1 1 too high 3 
Charitable – Donation & Fundraising Platform (Donation Forms, Recurring Donations & Fundraising Campaigns) 10K+ · 4.9★ (219) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #3 4 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #6 2 too low 5 
Advanced Product Fields (Product Addons) for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.8★ (284)
wp.org #5 6 
GutenKit – Page Builder Blocks, Patterns, and Templates for Gutenberg Block Editor 80K+ · 4.5★ (48) heavy footprint
wp.org #4 2 too high 7 
Element Pack Addons for Elementor – MCP & AI-Ready Elementor Widgets, Elementor Templates, Elementor Addons 100K+ · 4.7★ (284)
wp.org #8 1 too low 8 
Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807)
wp.org #10 ↓1 2 too low 9 YayMail – WooCommerce Email Customizer 50K+ · 4.8★ (291)
wp.org #15 ↓2 6 too low 10 
Extra Product Options For WooCommerce | Custom Product Addons and Fields 30K+ · 4.9★ (219) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #11 1 too low 11 
Flexible Product Fields (WooCommerce Product Addons) – WooCommerce Product Page Editor 10K+ · 4.5★ (106)
wp.org #14 ↑1 3 too low 12 
CF7 Apps – Addons for Contact Form 7 (Honeypot, Database, Redirection, Webhook, etc.) 300K+ · 3.8★ (135) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #7 ↑3 5 too high 13 
Paymattic – Secure, Simple Payment & Donation with Subscription Payments, Recurring Donations, Customer Management 3K+ · 4.8★ (44)
wp.org #12 1 too high 14 
Import and export users and customers 70K+ · 4.7★ (259)
wp.org #21 7 too low 15 
Paid Membership Subscriptions – Effortless Memberships, Recurring Payments & Content Restriction 10K+ · 4.7★ (270)
wp.org #23 ↓1 8 too low 16 
WP Event Manager – Events Calendar, Registrations, Sell Tickets with WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.0★ (249)
wp.org #19 3 too low 17 
WidgetKit for Elementor – Lightweight Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 7K+ · 4.5★ (35)
wp.org #17 18 
JetFormBuilder — Dynamic Blocks Form Builder 80K+ · 4.2★ (72)
wp.org #20 2 too low 19 
Better Payment – Instant Payments, Donations, Fundraising with Subscriptions & More 5K+ · 4.6★ (14) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #16 3 too high 20 
Payment Plugins for Stripe Elementor – by Pay Addons 100+ · 5.0★ (6) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #22 ↓1 2 too low 21 
ShopEngine Gutenberg WooCommerce Builder Blocks Addon – All in One WooCommerce Solution 3K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #13 ↑1 8 too high 22 Donation Addon WooCommerce 10+ · 5.0★ (1) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #9 ↓2 13 too high 23 
Distance Rate Shipping For WooCommerce 300+ · 3.3★ (8) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #24 1 too low 24 
myCred Addons – Ultimate myCred Modules To Support WordPress Gamification and Loyalty Rewards 400+ · 5.0★ (1) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #18 6 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.