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← Rankings

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

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 “downloadable”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 8 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

Order Status Control for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #14 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 4K+ 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

Product Table & List Builder for WooCommerce places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 254 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 Simple Download Monitor 20K+ · 4.7★ (158) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 Download Monitor 80K+ · 4.5★ (525) wp.org #3 ↓2 1 too low 3 Smart Slider 3 800K+ · 4.9★ (1125) wp.org #5 ↑4 2 too low 4 PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #7 ↓1 3 too low 5 Autocomplete WooCommerce Orders 30K+ · 4.6★ (137) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6 Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184) wp.org #4 ↓1 2 too high 7 CMP – Coming Soon & Maintenance Plugin by NiteoThemes 200K+ · 4.7★ (326) wp.org #11 ↑7 4 too low 8 Dokan: AI Powered WooCommerce Multivendor Marketplace Solution – Build Your Own Amazon, eBay, Etsy 30K+ · 4.6★ (769) wp.org #10 ↓6 2 too low 9 Ultimate Downloadable Products for WooCommerce 20+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #2 7 too high 10 Product Table & List Builder for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.9★ (254) wp.org #18 ↓2 8 too low 11 Bulky – Bulk Edit Products for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.6★ (53) wp.org #9 ↓2 2 too high 12 WPC Product Bundles for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.4★ (220) wp.org #12 ↓1 13 Bulk Edit Posts and Products in Spreadsheet 7K+ · 4.8★ (217) wp.org #21 ↓1 8 too low 14 Product Attachment for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.5★ (24) wp.org #8 ↑6 6 too high 15 Bulk Edit Products for WooCommerce – WP Sheet Editor 10K+ · 4.9★ (228) wp.org #19 ↓2 4 too low 16 Free Downloads WooCommerce 4K+ · 4.7★ (85) wp.org #15 ↓3 1 too high 17 Product Bundle Builder for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.8★ (61) wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too high 18 Digital Goods for WooCommerce Checkout 3K+ · 4.5★ (42) wp.org #13 ↓5 5 too high 19 Lana Downloads Manager 3K+ · 5.0★ (16) wp.org #17 ↓4 2 too high 20 WP Migrate Lite – Migration Made Easy 200K+ · 4.2★ (318) wp.org #22 2 too low 21 Thank You Page for WooCommerce 10K+ · 5.0★ (43) wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too high 22 Pay with Vipps and MobilePay for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.8★ (13) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 Order Status Control for WooCommerce 4K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #14 ↓4 9 too high 24 Seriously Simple Transcripts 900+ · 3.0★ (1) wp.org #24 ↓3

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.