Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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

Conditional Fees for WooCommerce Lite shows at wp.org #6 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 400+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Side Cart Woocommerce | Woocommerce Cart places #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 453 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 PI Conditional cart fee / Extra charge rule for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.9★ (38) wp.org #1 2 Smart COD for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.6★ (52) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 TT Extra Fee Option for WooCommerce 1K+ · 3.8★ (16) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Extra Fees for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.3★ (42) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Checkout Field Editor for WooCommerce – Checkout Manager 20K+ · 4.9★ (165) wp.org #15 10 too low 6 Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #16 ↑1 10 too low 7 Advanced Product Fields (Product Addons) for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.8★ (284) wp.org #18 ↓2 11 too low 8 Side Cart Woocommerce | Woocommerce Cart 70K+ · 4.9★ (453) wp.org #21 ↑1 13 too low 9 Advanced Free Shipping for WooCommerce 40K+ · 4.8★ (122) wp.org #19 10 too low 10 Paid Membership Subscriptions – Effortless Memberships, Recurring Payments & Content Restriction 10K+ · 4.7★ (270) wp.org #23 13 too low 11 Payment Gateway Based Fees and Discounts for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.7★ (58) wp.org #10 1 too high 12 YayExtra – WooCommerce Extra Product Options 1K+ · 4.8★ (24) wp.org #13 1 too low 13 PiWeb Disable payment method / Partial payment for WooCommerce 4K+ · 5.0★ (38) wp.org #12 1 too high 14 Pay for Payment for WooCommerce – Payment Gateway Fees & Discounts 10K+ · 4.7★ (71) wp.org #22 ↓1 8 too low 15 Flat Rate Shipping Method for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.2★ (76) wp.org #14 1 too high 16 Payment and Shipping Method Checkout Fee for WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #8 8 too high 17 Custom Fee Woocommerce 400+ · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #5 12 too high 18 Extra Product Options for WooCommerce 600+ · 4.1★ (9) wp.org #9 9 too high 19 Gift Wrapping for WooCommerce 900+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #17 ↑1 2 too high 20 Conditional Fees for WooCommerce Lite 400+ · 4.3★ (3) wp.org #6 14 too high 21 Cart Additional Fee For WooCommerce 70+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #7 14 too high 22 WPC Free Shipping Bar for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.2★ (13) wp.org #24 ↓1 2 too low 23 YITH Pre-Order for WooCommerce 6K+ · 3.1★ (16) wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too high 24 Kiswa COD Fee for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 13 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.