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

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

ConsentOwl — Cookie Consent & Tracker Blocker shows at wp.org #5 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Free Cookie Notice & Consent Banner for Privacy Compliance (GDPR, CCPA, DSGVO and others) 7K+ · 4.0★ (16) wp.org #1 2 Seers AI | Cookie Consent Banner – GDPR & CCPA Compliant Consent Management Platform 1K+ · 4.7★ (52) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Age Verification for your checkout page. Verify your customer’s identity 600+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Cálculo do frete somente com o CEP – WC Brasil 1K+ · 4.2★ (10) wp.org #4 5 Wetterwarner 500+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 Accessibility by AllAccessible 2K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #11 5 too low 7 Automated FedEx live/manual rates with shipping labels – HPOS supported 200+ · 4.9★ (12) wp.org #14 7 too low 8 ELEX WooCommerce USPS Shipping Method 800+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #8 9 HIPAA Forms 700+ · 4.3★ (9) wp.org #13 ↑2 4 too low 10 Polski for WooCommerce 60+ · 4.8★ (10) wp.org #17 7 too low 11 Interactive US Map 400+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #12 1 too low 12 Filikod – Alt Text Checker & Bulk Image Alt Text Editor 200+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #20 8 too low 13 R RuCookie & 152-ФЗ 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #9 ↑1 4 too high 14 ConsentOwl — Cookie Consent & Tracker Blocker 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 9 too high 15 Registration Email Blocker 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 8 too high 16 KosTeams Payments for Yandex Pay and Yandex Split for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 ↑1 17 Novalnet Payment Gateway for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.3★ (4) wp.org #23 ↓2 6 too low 18 WP Affiliate Disclosure 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 ↓1 8 too high 19 NoCrumbs Cookie Notice 80+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 1 too high 20 ELEX ShipEngine UPS & FedEx Shipping Method 70+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↑1 5 too high 21 PDN152 Compliance 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓2 3 too low 22 Dynamic Post – AI Content – White Paper – Peer Review – Tax & Accounting Sites 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 3 too high 23 VIESAC – Free VAT Validation for WooCommerce 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 Automatic FFL 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 ↓2 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.