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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “filter hooks”

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 “filter hooks”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 6 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

Astra Theme Visual Hooks shows at wp.org #12 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 1K+ 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

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 27821 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Filter Everything — WordPress & WooCommerce Filters 50K+ · 4.6★ (154) wp.org #1 2 YMC Filter 4K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #2 3 Category AJAX Filter – Posts, Custom Post Types & Product Filter 6K+ · 4.9★ (158) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 HUSKY – Products Filter for WooCommerce Professional. MCP is onboard 80K+ · 4.6★ (337) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 Simply Show Hooks 1K+ · 5.0★ (63) wp.org #6 7 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #13 6 too low 8 Blog Filter – Post Grid Filter by Category or Tag 7K+ · 4.9★ (81) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 Portfolio Filter Gallery – Photo Gallery 20K+ · 4.8★ (348) wp.org #11 2 too low 10 Genesis Simple Hooks 20K+ · 4.6★ (22) wp.org #5 5 too high 11 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 Relevanssi – A Better Search 100K+ · 4.8★ (406) wp.org #18 ↑1 6 too low 13 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588) wp.org #23 10 too low 14 Plugin Load Filter 7K+ · 4.8★ (52) wp.org #16 2 too low 15 Safe SVG 1M+ · 4.9★ (79) wp.org #14 ↑1 1 too high 16 Nested Pages 90K+ · 4.7★ (126) wp.org #24 8 too low 17 Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #20 ↓6 3 too low 18 Advanced AJAX Product Filters 50K+ · 4.7★ (387) wp.org #22 ↑1 4 too low 19 Better Post & Filter Widgets for Elementor 4K+ · 5.0★ (18) wp.org #10 9 too high 20 Filter Orders by Product for WooCommerce 4K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #17 ↑1 3 too high 21 WCAPF – Ajax Product Filter for WooCommerce 8K+ · 4.3★ (44) wp.org #19 ↑1 2 too high 22 MDTF – Meta Data and Taxonomies Filter 900+ · 4.5★ (28) wp.org #21 1 too high 23 Astra Theme Visual Hooks 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #12 11 too high 24 VK Filter Search 6K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #15 ↑2 9 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.