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← Rankings

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

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 “evaluate”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Charla Live Chat shows at wp.org #9 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 14 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

Echo Knowledge Base – Documentation, FAQs, Chat & Smart Search places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 124 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641) wp.org #1 2 Access Governance for WordPress (aka AAM) 100K+ · 4.2★ (420) wp.org #4 ↑1 2 too low 3 BetterDocs – AI Documentation, Knowledge Base, MCP Server, Docs, Wikis, FAQ & Chatbot 30K+ · 4.8★ (515) wp.org #5 ↓1 2 too low 4 Hosting Benchmark tool 4K+ · 4.7★ (33) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Statify – Extended Evaluation 20K+ · 4.6★ (11) wp.org #2 3 too high 6 Plugin Check (PCP) 10K+ · 4.5★ (36) wp.org #6 7 T Testimonial Slider 3K+ · 4.2★ (69) wp.org #7 8 Product Import Export for WooCommerce – CSV Product Importer & Exporter 80K+ · 4.6★ (413) wp.org #11 3 too low 9 Team Members – Multi Language Supported Team Plugin 6K+ · 5.0★ (85) wp.org #13 4 too low 10 Echo Knowledge Base – Documentation, FAQs, Chat & Smart Search 10K+ · 4.9★ (124) wp.org #19 ↑1 9 too low 11 Titan Anti-spam & Security – Brute Force Protection, 2FA & Spam Filter 50K+ · 4.5★ (370) wp.org #17 ↑1 6 too low 12 FastPixel Cache – Optimize Page Speed: Compress Images, Minify, Clean Database & CDN 4K+ · 4.8★ (50) wp.org #15 3 too low 13 SureRank SEO – Meta Tags, Social Preview, XML Sitemap, Schema & Open Graph 300K+ · 4.8★ (51) wp.org #23 10 too low 14 Store Vacation Lite for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.6★ (189) wp.org #22 ↓5 8 too low 15 Link Manager – Analyze, Automate, and Monitor Links 1K+ · 4.4★ (10) wp.org #10 5 too high 16 ApplyOnline – Application Form Builder and Manager 2K+ · 4.1★ (40) wp.org #18 ↑1 2 too low 17 WP ADA Compliance Check Basic 2K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #8 9 too high 18 Bubuku Media Library 200+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #16 2 too high 19 Flexmls® IDX Plugin 1K+ · 3.5★ (22) wp.org #20 ↑1 1 too low 20 Interlinks Manager – Internal Links Optimizer 7K+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #12 8 too high 21 Visibility Controls for Editor Blocks 900+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #14 7 too high 22 Semrush SEO Writing Assistant 8K+ · 2.8★ (25) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 Charla Live Chat 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 14 too high 24 Service Box Slider 400+ · 0.0★ (0) 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.