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

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 “duration”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 5 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Booking Package shows at wp.org #12 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 15 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Appointment Hour Booking – Booking Calendar 10K+ · 4.9★ (524) wp.org #1 ↑1 2

Simple Membership 40K+ · 4.6★ (475) wp.org #2 ↑2 3

Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7520) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4

GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #3 ↓2 1 too high 5

Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167) wp.org #6 1 too low 6

Booking for Appointments and Events Calendar – Amelia 90K+ · 4.6★ (793) wp.org #8 2 too low 7

Blocks Animation: CSS Animations for Gutenberg Blocks 90K+ · 4.8★ (73) wp.org #5 2 too high 8

Page scroll to id 100K+ · 4.9★ (225) wp.org #7 1 too high 9

All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #9 ↑1 10

Limit Login Attempts Security – Login Security, 2FA, Firewall, Brute Force Prevention 1M+ · 4.8★ (1489) wp.org #10 ↓1 11

Tutor LMS – eLearning and online course solution 100K+ · 4.4★ (590) wp.org #11 12

ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #15 3 too low 13

WPFront Scroll Top 200K+ · 4.9★ (142) wp.org #13 ↓1 14

Inactive Logout 10K+ · 4.8★ (106) wp.org #14 15

Animate It! 20K+ · 4.9★ (127) wp.org #19 ↓1 4 too low 16

WP Crontrol 300K+ · 4.4★ (167) wp.org #20 ↑1 4 too low 17

Salon Booking System – Appointment Booking for Salons, Barbershops & Spas 2K+ · 4.4★ (187) wp.org #23 6 too low 18

Animations for Blocks 10K+ · 4.8★ (27) wp.org #16 2 too high 19

Paystack WooCommerce Payment Gateway 20K+ · 4.5★ (25) wp.org #18 ↑1 1 too high 20

Booking Package 10K+ · 4.0★ (15) thin reviews wp.org #12 ↑1 8 too high 21

AnimateGL – WebGL & CSS Scroll Animations and Hover Effects for Gutenberg and Elementor 2K+ · 5.0★ (22) thin reviews wp.org #21 ↓1 22

WPVulnerability 10K+ · 5.0★ (20) thin reviews wp.org #24 2 too low 23

Better Block Editor (BBE) 6K+ · 5.0★ (11) thin reviews wp.org #22 1 too high 24

Text Unfold For Elementor 3K+ · 4.6★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #17 7 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.