wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “events registration”
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 “events registration”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 5 of the top 20.
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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.
Ranked above its merit
Event Genius – Event Calendar, Event Registration, and Attendee Management shows at wp.org #5 but places #12 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 600+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.8★ average from 17 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
How this rank is calculated
Each plugin's merit score multiplies these inputs together: how recently it was updated, how current its "tested up to" WordPress version is, its install base (log scale, capped at 10 million), its support thread resolution rate, and a rating score. The rating score weights the star average by review volume against a sitewide prior, then scales it by the lower bound of the share of 4 and 5 star reviews. A plugin with 3.7 stars from tens of thousands of reviews can still outscore a 4.9 with a few dozen, because the small sample carries less certainty.
A health factor between 0.4 and 1.15 then adjusts that score for what wp.org's search can't see: PHP fatals or failed activations on a test install, PHP and WordPress compatibility, memory and page-speed footprint, suspicious review patterns, closure risk, and a large install base with very few reviews. Clean, adopted plugins earn a small lift.
A keyword ranking starts from wp.org's search order for the term, weighting each position by 1 divided by its place, then applies the merit correction and health factor above. Relevance to the keyword stays in the result, so the order can differ from the all-categories list on /best, which scores plugins with no search term.
Hover a row to see the main reason for its position.
The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2463)
wp.org #1 2 
Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551)
wp.org #2 3 
Event Booking Manager for WooCommerce – Sell Tickets, Event Registration, RSVP & Event Calendar 7K+ · 4.5★ (167)
wp.org #3 4 
Eventin – Events Calendar, Tickets, Registration, Booking & WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (415)
wp.org #6 2 too low 5 
User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (832)
wp.org #8 3 too low 6 
Event Tickets and Registration 90K+ · 3.5★ (236)
wp.org #4 2 too high 7 
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5042)
wp.org #10 3 too low 8 
Registrations for the Events Calendar – Event Registration Plugin 7K+ · 5.0★ (103)
wp.org #7 1 too high 9 
WP Event Manager – Events Calendar, Registrations, Sell Tickets with WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.0★ (250)
wp.org #9 10 
RegistrationMagic – Custom Registration Forms, User Registration, Payment, and User Login 7K+ · 4.5★ (459)
wp.org #12 2 too low 11 
My Calendar – Accessible Event Manager 20K+ · 4.7★ (159)
wp.org #11 12 Event Genius – Event Calendar, Event Registration, and Attendee Management 600+ · 4.8★ (17) thin reviews
wp.org #5 7 too high 13 
Events Shortcodes For The Events Calendar 10K+ · 4.9★ (214)
wp.org #15 2 too low 14 
Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3224)
wp.org #23 9 too low 15 
Events Widgets For Elementor And The Events Calendar 10K+ · 4.5★ (108)
wp.org #13 2 too high 16 
Events Made Easy 1K+ · 4.6★ (111)
wp.org #16 17 
EventPrime – Events Calendar, Bookings, Tickets & AI 7K+ · 4.4★ (85)
wp.org #19 2 too low 18 
Sugar Calendar – Events Calendar, Event Tickets, and Events Management Platform 10K+ · 4.5★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #14 4 too high 19 
RSVP and Event Management 3K+ · 4.4★ (58)
wp.org #18 1 too high 20 
Ticket Tailor — Event Ticketing & Registration 4K+ · 4.3★ (46)
wp.org #17 3 too high 21 
Event Countdown for The Events Calendar 3K+ · 4.6★ (48)
wp.org #20 1 too high 22 
Import Eventbrite Events 3K+ · 4.5★ (52)
wp.org #22 23 
Event Registration 100+ · 3.8★ (22) thin reviews
wp.org #24 1 too low 24 
WP Events Manager 30K+ · 2.7★ (13) thin reviews
wp.org #21 3 too high Merit ranking caps the install boost at 10M (wp.org leaves it uncapped), replaces the raw star average with a volume-weighted 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.