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← Rankings

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

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 “downvote”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20. 7 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

CBX 5 Star Rating & Review shows at wp.org #10 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 10 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Echo Knowledge Base – Documentation, FAQs, Chat & Smart Search 10K+ · 4.9★ (124) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Comment Link Remove and Other Comment Tools 8K+ · 4.1★ (15) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Forumax – AI Powered Advanced Community Forum Plugin 500+ · 5.0★ (18) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Hyvor Talk – Comments, Newsletters, Memberships 90+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Changeloger – Changelog, Release Notes, Roadmap & Feature Requests 200+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 KnowledgeBase with AI ChatBot HelpDesk – KBx 30+ · 4.6★ (14) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 WP Roadmap – Product Feedback Board 100+ · 3.9★ (7) wp.org #4 3 too high 8 IdeaPush 700+ · 4.5★ (31) wp.org #19 11 too low 9 bbPress Voting 400+ · 4.7★ (10) wp.org #18 9 too low 10 NiroRoadmap – Public Product Roadmap & Kanban Board 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 2 too high 11 Conva Comment System (Beta) 10+ · 4.4★ (8) wp.org #24 13 too low 12 Gossiped Comments 90+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 5 too high 13 wAnswers – SEO-First Q&A 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 1 too high 14 C Comments Press Zone — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 1 too high 15 RC Post Rating — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↑3 1 too high 16 CommentXpert – Private Comments, Comment Modifications, and Advanced Commenting Features 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 5 too high 17 Comment Suite – Anti-Spam, Moderation, Cleanup & Voting — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↓1 2 too high 18 Likenook – Like Dislike Buttons — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↓1 2 too high 19 Like Dislike – Like Buttons, Helpful Votes & Most Liked Posts — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↓1 2 too high 20 CBX 5 Star Rating & Review 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 10 too high 21 Blim Post Suggestion and Vote — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 Product Roadmap 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 23 Comment Like Dislike for BuddyPress Activity 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 Flexible Chat – AI chatbot plugin for WordPress and WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) 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.