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← Rankings

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

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 “estimated”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 of the top 20. 3 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

Estimated Delivery Date Per Product For WooCommerce shows at wp.org #4 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Product page shipping calculator for WooCommerce places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 77 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Estimated delivery date per product for WooCommerce 300+ · 4.3★ (83) wp.org #3 2 too low 2 Estimated Delivery for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #2 3 WPC Estimated Delivery Date for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.0★ (9) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #7 ↓1 3 too low 5 Read Meter – Reading Time & Progress Bar 10K+ · 4.5★ (19) wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too low 6 Shipping Live Rates and Access Points for UPS for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.7★ (77) wp.org #11 ↓1 5 too low 7 Product page shipping calculator for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.9★ (77) wp.org #14 ↑4 7 too low 8 Shipping Simulator for WooCommerce 6K+ · 5.0★ (40) wp.org #8 ↑8 9 Reading Time WP 20K+ · 4.8★ (20) wp.org #9 ↓1 10 WP Reading Progress 3K+ · 5.0★ (19) wp.org #10 ↓1 11 QuickShipD – Estimated Delivery Date for WooCommerce 40+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #5 6 too high 12 WPC Fly Cart for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (61) wp.org #12 ↑2 13 Worth The Read 3K+ · 4.3★ (27) wp.org #15 ↓2 2 too low 14 Estimated Delivery Date Per Product For WooCommerce 100+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #4 10 too high 15 Shipping Live Rates for FedEx for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.4★ (27) wp.org #16 ↓4 1 too low 16 WP Crowdfunding 2K+ · 4.4★ (89) wp.org #18 ↓1 2 too low 17 Mortgage Calculators WP 3K+ · 4.7★ (10) wp.org #13 ↑2 4 too high 18 WC – APG Weight Shipping 6K+ · 4.3★ (49) wp.org #17 ↓6 1 too high 19 Add Chat App Button 2K+ · 4.8★ (13) wp.org #19 ↑1 20 Mortgage Calculator 4K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #23 3 too low 21 Food Online for WooCommerce 300+ · 4.1★ (26) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 ELEX WooCommerce USPS Shipping Method 800+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #20 ↑1 2 too high 23 Simple Mortgage Calculator 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #22 1 too high 24 YITH WooCommerce Order & Shipment Tracking 7K+ · 3.7★ (15) wp.org #21 ↑1 3 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.