Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “exclusion”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 2 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

R

Ranked above its merit

Role Based Tax Exclusion shows at wp.org #6 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 30+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.7★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

FiboSearch – Ajax Search for WooCommerce places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 1815 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 Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517) wp.org #1 2 Backup Migration 80K+ · 4.9★ (1338) wp.org #2 3 Relevanssi – A Better Search 100K+ · 4.8★ (406) wp.org #3 4 Redirection 100K+ · 5.0★ (419) wp.org #8 ↑1 4 too low 5 Breeze Cache 300K+ · 3.6★ (133) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) wp.org #9 ↓1 3 too low 7 FiboSearch – Ajax Search for WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.9★ (1815) wp.org #19 12 too low 8 Koko Analytics – Privacy-Friendly WordPress Analytics 70K+ · 5.0★ (245) wp.org #17 9 too low 9 WP Comment Cleaner – Delete All Comments, Disable Comments, Bulk Delete & Remove Comments 20K+ · 4.7★ (58) wp.org #11 2 too low 10 EU Withdrawal and Legal Guarantee Compliance 1K+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 Simple Sitemap – Responsive HTML Sitemap for WordPress 60K+ · 3.9★ (72) wp.org #10 1 too high 12 Internal Links Manager 10K+ · 4.8★ (33) wp.org #12 13 Ajax Search Lite – Live Search & Filter 70K+ · 4.8★ (266) wp.org #21 8 too low 14 Meta Tag Manager 70K+ · 4.8★ (84) wp.org #16 2 too low 15 WebberZone Top 10 — Popular Posts 10K+ · 4.6★ (102) wp.org #23 ↓1 8 too low 16 SiteGuard WP Plugin 600K+ · 4.3★ (15) wp.org #5 11 too high 17 No External Links 4K+ · 4.8★ (16) wp.org #15 2 too high 18 NinjaScanner – Virus & Malware scan 40K+ · 4.0★ (36) wp.org #18 19 SpeedyCache – Cache, Optimization, Performance 500K+ · 4.4★ (30) wp.org #13 6 too high 20 LWS Optimize – All-in-One Speed Booster & Cache Tools 20K+ · 4.6★ (9) wp.org #14 6 too high 21 atec Cache APCu 3K+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 R Role Based Tax Exclusion 30+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #6 16 too high 23 Free Shipping Excluder for WooCommerce 80+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 3 too high 24 Auto Focus Keyword for SEO 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) 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.