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

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 “estimation”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 4 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

WPC Estimated Delivery Date for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #7 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 9 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Stylish Cost Calculator – Quote Generator, Lead Gen & Price Estimator places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 175 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Zigaform – Price Calculator & Cost Estimation Form Builder Lite 100+ · 4.6★ (23) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Cost Calculator Builder 20K+ · 4.5★ (393) wp.org #5 ↓1 3 too low 3 Sequential Order Number for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.9★ (146) wp.org #9 ↓4 6 too low 4 Cost Calculator & Cost Estimation 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #1 3 too high 5 GDPR tools: Cookie notice + privacy 5K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #3 ↑15 2 too high 6 Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots 10K+ · 4.8★ (142) wp.org #13 ↓4 7 too low 7 Stylish Cost Calculator – Quote Generator, Lead Gen & Price Estimator 1K+ · 4.8★ (175) wp.org #21 ↑1 14 too low 8 Survey Maker by AYS 5K+ · 4.8★ (79) wp.org #17 ↓5 9 too low 9 Plausible Analytics 10K+ · 5.0★ (29) wp.org #16 ↓1 7 too low 10 NEX-Forms – Ultimate Forms Plugin for WordPress 5K+ · 4.1★ (135) wp.org #18 ↓2 8 too low 11 AForms — Form Builder for Price Calculator & Cost Estimation 3K+ · 4.8★ (8) wp.org #6 ↓3 5 too high 12 E-cab Taxi Booking Manager for Woocommerce 2K+ · 4.9★ (28) wp.org #14 ↓3 2 too low 13 GDPR Tools: comment ip removement 2K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #4 ↑16 9 too high 14 Australia Post WooCommerce Extension 3K+ · 4.4★ (19) wp.org #12 ↓4 2 too high 15 Easy Actions Scheduler Cleaner 900+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #15 ↓2 16 Freight Integration for Woocommerce to Profrakt and Logistra by WildRobot 200+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #8 ↓1 8 too high 17 WPC Estimated Delivery Date for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.0★ (9) wp.org #7 ↓1 10 too high 18 Cost Calculator for Contact Form 7 – Price Calculator Free 5K+ · 3.8★ (15) wp.org #10 8 too high 19 Live Shipping Rates Australia for woocommerce – Get real-time shipping rates for your store 80+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #23 4 too low 20 Post Word Counter – Content Insights Dashboard 200+ · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #19 ↓2 1 too high 21 AgeWallet – Age Verification & Age Estimation for WordPress & WooCommerce 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 ↑10 10 too high 22 Shiprazor Shipping Price 70+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 Footprint – Find what slows your site 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too high 24 ConvertCalculator: Build Cost, Price, Quotation, ROI Interactive Calculators 800+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 ↑1 2 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.