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

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 “eps”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 9 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

EP Exporter for Contact Form 7 (CF7) shows at wp.org #3 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 500+ 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

Easy Digital Downloads – eCommerce Payments and Subscriptions made easy places #3 on merit, 4.7★ from 591 reviews, but shows at wp.org #11. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 301 Redirects – Redirect Manager 300K+ · 4.7★ (578) wp.org #1 2 WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway 700K+ · 3.1★ (237) wp.org #2 3 Easy Digital Downloads – eCommerce Payments and Subscriptions made easy 40K+ · 4.7★ (591) wp.org #11 ↓1 8 too low 4 FunnelKit Payment Gateway for Stripe WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.9★ (53) wp.org #8 4 too low 5 Payment Gateway for PayPal on WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.4★ (73) wp.org #5 ↑2 6 Payment Gateway of Stripe for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.4★ (66) wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too low 7 zahls.ch Credit Cards, PostFinance and TWINT for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.9★ (7) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too high 8 Payment Gateway of PayPal for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.2★ (79) wp.org #12 4 too low 9 M MimeTypes Link Icons 8K+ · 5.0★ (26) wp.org #17 8 too low 10 POS Entegratör – Gurmehub Ödeme Eklentisi 1K+ · 4.7★ (48) wp.org #20 ↑1 10 too low 11 Mollie Payments for WooCommerce 100K+ · 3.6★ (69) wp.org #10 ↑1 1 too high 12 WP Stripe Checkout 1K+ · 4.4★ (23) wp.org #16 4 too low 13 Payment Gateway for Authorize.net for WooCommerce 800+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #4 9 too high 14 Stripe Payment Forms by WP Full Pay – Accept Credit Card Payments, Donations & Subscriptions 8K+ · 4.2★ (26) wp.org #21 ↑1 7 too low 15 ProfilePress – Paid Membership, Online Courses (LMS), Ecommerce, User Registration & Login Form, User Profile & Restrict Content 100K+ · 3.1★ (938) wp.org #24 ↓4 9 too low 16 EP Exporter for Contact Form 7 (CF7) 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 13 too high 17 Korea for WooCommerce 300+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #15 ↓2 2 too high 18 Buckaroo Payments for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.7★ (6) wp.org #13 ↑1 5 too high 19 Payssion Plugin for Woocommerce 400+ · 3.3★ (12) wp.org #22 ↑2 3 too low 20 MultiSafepay plugin for WooCommerce 3K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #9 11 too high 21 Checkout.com Payment Gateway 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #18 3 too high 22 Payment Gateway for WooCommerce with Stripe – by Pay Addons 70+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #19 3 too high 23 Pay. Payment Methods for WooCommerce 3K+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #14 ↑1 9 too high 24 Novalnet Payment Gateway for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.3★ (4) 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.