Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “donation button”

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 button”, we agree with wp.org 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 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

Ko-fi Button shows at wp.org #3 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 5K+ 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

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More places #3 on merit, 4.8★ from 14387 reviews, but shows at wp.org #10. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) wp.org #1 2 Donation Platform for WooCommerce: Fundraising & Donation Management 7K+ · 4.9★ (99) wp.org #2 ↑3 3 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #10 7 too low 4 Charitable – Donation & Fundraising Platform (Donation Forms, Recurring Donations & Fundraising Campaigns) 10K+ · 4.9★ (219) wp.org #6 ↑1 2 too low 5 Accept Donations with PayPal & Stripe 10K+ · 3.8★ (23) wp.org #5 ↓3 6 Donations via PayPal 20K+ · 4.7★ (27) wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too low 7 Donation Thermometer 2K+ · 4.4★ (12) wp.org #4 ↓1 3 too high 8 Donorbox – Free Recurring Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 8K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #8 9 Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) wp.org #15 ↑1 6 too low 10 Back To The Top Button 4K+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #12 2 too low 11 AidWP – Donation & Payment Forms (Stripe Powered) 800+ · 4.8★ (28) wp.org #11 12 Like Button Rating ♥ LikeBtn 3K+ · 4.4★ (273) wp.org #14 2 too low 13 FundEngine – Donation and Crowdfunding Platform 1K+ · 4.2★ (22) wp.org #9 4 too high 14 Payment Button for PayPal 4K+ · 4.5★ (40) wp.org #18 ↓3 4 too low 15 Paymattic – Secure, Simple Payment & Donation with Subscription Payments, Recurring Donations, Customer Management 3K+ · 4.8★ (44) wp.org #22 ↓1 7 too low 16 WhyDonate – FREE Donate button – Crowdfunding – Fundraising 800+ · 4.8★ (43) wp.org #19 3 too low 17 Fast Chat Button 1K+ · 4.9★ (7) wp.org #17 ↑1 18 Ko-fi Button 5K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 ↑1 15 too high 19 Zeffy Donate Button 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #13 6 too high 20 Kudos Donations: Easy Donations with Mollie | One-off & Recurring | PDF Receipts | Buttons & Forms 100+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #24 ↓1 4 too low 21 Mission – Donation Plugin for WordPress – Fundraising & Recurring Donations 70+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #21 ↓1 22 Donation or Tip For WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 ↑1 6 too high 23 SureDonation – Donation Forms, Fundraising Campaigns & Donor Management 4K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 3 too high 24 Very Simple PayPal Donation Form 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 1 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.