Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “event planner”

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

Stachethemes Seat Planner Lite shows at wp.org #6 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 80+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

PublishPress Blocks – Block Controls, Block Visibility, Block Permissions places #12 on merit, 4.7★ from 204 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Event Genius – Event Calendar, Event Registration, and Attendee Management 600+ · 4.8★ (17) wp.org #1 2 Eventin – Events Calendar, Tickets, Registration, Booking & WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (413) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Simple Event Planner 1K+ · 4.3★ (23) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 WP Event Manager – Events Calendar, Registrations, Sell Tickets with WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.0★ (249) wp.org #4 5 CartFlows – Funnel Builder & Checkout Plugin for WooCommerce 200K+ · 4.8★ (517) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 WP Recipe Maker 50K+ · 5.0★ (356) wp.org #13 7 too low 7 Schedule Post Changes With PublishPress Future: Unpublish, Delete, Change Status, Trash, Change Categories 100K+ · 4.5★ (172) wp.org #12 5 too low 8 Sugar Calendar – Events Calendar, Event Tickets, and Events Management Platform 10K+ · 4.5★ (24) wp.org #5 3 too high 9 Easy Appointment Booking & Scheduling Plugin – Webba Booking Calendar 2K+ · 4.9★ (159) wp.org #9 10 PublishPress Capabilities: User Role Access Control, Admin Area Permissions 90K+ · 4.7★ (143) wp.org #16 ↑1 6 too low 11 PublishPress Revisions: Duplicate Posts, Submit, Approve and Schedule Content Changes 10K+ · 4.6★ (66) wp.org #14 3 too low 12 PublishPress Blocks – Block Controls, Block Visibility, Block Permissions 20K+ · 4.7★ (204) wp.org #24 12 too low 13 Bulk Page Generator – LPagery 3K+ · 5.0★ (31) wp.org #15 2 too low 14 MDJM Event Management 40+ · 4.9★ (10) wp.org #10 4 too high 15 Calendar.online / Kalender.digital – Plugin 2K+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #8 7 too high 16 Layouts for Elementor 1K+ · 4.7★ (14) wp.org #23 ↑1 7 too low 17 Hydra Booking — Appointment Scheduling & Booking Calendar 2K+ · 4.4★ (9) wp.org #17 ↑1 18 Stachethemes Seat Planner Lite 80+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #6 12 too high 19 Order Limit for WooCommerce (Free Version) 800+ · 4.2★ (13) wp.org #21 ↑1 2 too low 20 Termin-Kalender 500+ · 4.2★ (9) wp.org #18 ↑1 2 too high 21 Block for Mailchimp – grow your email list with signup forms 2K+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #11 10 too high 22 Blockenberg — 645 Advanced Gutenberg Blocks, 683 Templates and AI Agent for WordPress Block Editor 1K+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #19 ↑1 3 too high 23 MultiStage Event Planner – Multi-Track Conference & Congress Schedule — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↑1 1 too high 24 Event Scheduler 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↑1 4 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.