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

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 “economic”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 5 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

Rétractation Légale for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #7 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 300+ 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 The Events Calendar Shortcode & Block 10K+ · 4.7★ (101) wp.org #3 ↓1 2 too low 2 Invisible Anti-Spam & CAPTCHA — reCAPTCHA Alternative for All Forms 4K+ · 4.8★ (50) wp.org #5 ↑1 3 too low 3 Visualizer – Tables & Charts Manager with Built-in AI Generator 20K+ · 4.4★ (225) wp.org #6 ↓2 3 too low 4 TaxJar – Sales Tax Automation for WooCommerce 5K+ · 2.6★ (28) wp.org #2 ↑1 2 too high 5 Economic & Market News 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #1 4 too high 6 TaxCloud for WooCommerce 500+ · 4.0★ (11) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 Amazon Pay for WooCommerce 10K+ · 2.5★ (27) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 WPSmartPay – Payment Forms, Invoices, Donations & Subscriptions 100+ · 4.7★ (18) wp.org #20 ↑1 12 too low 9 Stock Market News 400+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #4 ↑1 5 too high 10 Stockdio Historical Chart 800+ · 3.9★ (7) wp.org #10 11 Stock Quotes List 500+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #13 ↑1 2 too low 12 Precious Metals Product Prices for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #16 ↑1 4 too low 13 ZZAZZ 20+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #19 ↑1 6 too low 14 Vunelix Financial Widgets – Cryptocurrency, Stock Ticker & Forex 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 ↑1 15 Rétractation Légale for WooCommerce 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 8 too high 16 Stock Market Overview 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #11 ↑1 5 too high 17 EnvíaYa: Ship with all carriers (Rating, Booking and Tracking) 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↑1 5 too high 18 Economicium Widget — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↑1 4 too low 19 HUP – Indicadores Económicos (Chile) — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↑1 4 too low 20 MatrixMap – Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, Store Locator & World Maps 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 2 too high 21 Anrok Tax for WooCommerce 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↑2 4 too high 22 WebDiagnosis Site Audit 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↑1 1 too high 23 SmobilPay for e-commerce – Mobile Money Gateway for WooCommerce 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↑1 8 too high 24 Delivengo: Shipping methods for WooCommerce 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24

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.