Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “fee splitting”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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

ChinaDS – Tmall-Taobao Dropshipping for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #3 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Invoices for WooCommerce places #5 on merit, 4.7★ from 470 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 IgnitionDeck Crowdfunding Platform 100+ · 3.7★ (90) wp.org #1 2 ThirstyAffiliates – Affiliate Links, Link Branding, Link Tracking & Marketing Plugin 30K+ · 4.6★ (251) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 Split Pay – Stripe Connect Split Payments & Multi-Vendor Marketplace for WooCommerce & FluentCart 100+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 WCFM Marketplace – Multivendor Marketplace for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.6★ (449) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Invoices for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (470) wp.org #20 ↓1 15 too low 6 Calculate Prices based on Distance For WooCommerce 300+ · 4.8★ (20) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Plausible Analytics 10K+ · 5.0★ (29) wp.org #16 9 too low 8 Montonio for WooCommerce 10K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too low 9 ShipStation Live Rates for WooCommerce 800+ · 3.6★ (11) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 Advanced Shipping Manager 40+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #8 ↑1 2 too high 11 MultiPOS – Point of Sale (POS) for WooCommerce, Barcode Scanner & Cash Register 10+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #11 ↑1 12 WC Order Split 20+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #19 7 too low 13 DineKit – Restaurant Menu, Online Ordering, Table Reservations & POS 70+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #12 ↑1 1 too high 14 ChinaDS – Tmall-Taobao Dropshipping for WooCommerce 100+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #3 11 too high 15 ZionPe Payments 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 ↓1 16 AFB – Auto Form Builder: Drag & Drop Contact Forms, Multi-Step Forms, Conditional Logic & AI 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 6 too high 17 CollabPay ‑ Split Profits 30+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 ↑1 3 too high 18 ZM Labs Accounting Export for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 1 too high 19 Billink – Legacy 70+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 ↓1 3 too low 20 Holio Shipping 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓1 3 too low 21 Shipping Guard – Advanced Shipping Suite, Weight Based Shipping, Zero Emission & Protection — · 3.5★ (2) wp.org #13 ↓2 8 too high 22 Epaka Shipping for WooCommerce 90+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #18 4 too high 23 Swedbank Pay Payment Menu 200+ · 1.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too high 24 PagSeguro International Payment Gateway for WooCommerce 70+ · 1.0★ (1) wp.org #24 ↓1

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.