wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “extra charges”

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 “extra charges”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 7 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

Ni WooCommerce Payment Gateway Charges shows at wp.org #4 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Advanced Product Fields (Product Addons) for WooCommerce places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 284 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

PI Conditional cart fee / Extra charge rule for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.9★ (38) wp.org #1 2

Extra Product Options For WooCommerce | Custom Product Addons and Fields 30K+ · 4.9★ (219) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #2 3

Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #6 3 too low 4

Extra Fees for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.3★ (42) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #3 1 too high 5

Supreme Modules Lite – Divi Theme, Extra Theme and Divi Builder 200K+ · 4.8★ (109) wp.org #9 ↓1 4 too low 6

PDF Invoices & Packing Slips for WooCommerce 300K+ · 5.0★ (1865) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #11 ↓1 5 too low 7

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #12 ↑11 5 too low 8

Advanced Product Fields (Product Addons) for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.8★ (284) wp.org #18 ↓3 10 too low 9

Paid Membership Subscriptions – Effortless Memberships, Recurring Payments & Content Restriction 10K+ · 4.7★ (270) wp.org #19 ↓1 10 too low 10

Flat Rate Shipping Method for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.2★ (76) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too high 11

TT Extra Fee Option for WooCommerce 1K+ · 3.8★ (16) thin reviews wp.org #7 ↓1 4 too high 12

Virtuaria Payments with PagBank for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.8★ (25) wp.org #14 ↓3 2 too low 13

Table Rate Shipping for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.5★ (74) wp.org #21 ↓1 8 too low 14

Payment Gateway Based Fees and Discounts for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.7★ (58) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #13 ↑3 1 too high 15

HappyAddons for Elementor – 160 Elementor Widgets, GSAP Animations & Templates 400K+ · 4.8★ (489) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #23 ↓1 8 too low 16

Smart COD for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.6★ (52) wp.org #22 ↓1 6 too low 17

Extra Product Options for WooCommerce 600+ · 4.1★ (9) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #5 12 too high 18 N Ni WooCommerce Payment Gateway Charges 100+ · 5.0★ (4) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #4 14 too high 19

PiWeb Disable payment method / Partial payment for WooCommerce 4K+ · 5.0★ (38) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #17 ↓3 2 too high 20

BA Book Everything 10K+ · 4.2★ (20) thin reviews wp.org #16 ↓3 4 too high 21

FluentCart A New Era of eCommerce – Faster, Lighter, and Simpler 9K+ · 4.5★ (46) wp.org #24 3 too low 22

Checkout Field Editor (Checkout Manager) for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.7★ (40) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #20 ↓1 2 too high 23

Base (formerly BaseLinker) – 300+ marketplaces, 150+ carriers & PIM & OMS & WMS in one 5K+ · 4.2★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #15 ↓3 8 too high 24

Multiple Cart Fee – Custom Extra Charges, Surcharges & Conditional Fees for WooCommerce 10+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #10 ↓1 14 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.