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

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 “fine”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20. 4 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

Google for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #5 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 800K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.7★ average from 268 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 1322 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 wp.org
1 Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641) wp.org #1 2 Redirection 2M+ · 4.4★ (703) wp.org #2 3 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Max Mega Menu 300K+ · 4.8★ (882) wp.org #6 ↑1 2 too low 5 Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418) wp.org #7 ↑1 2 too low 6 Breeze Cache 300K+ · 3.6★ (133) wp.org #3 3 too high 7 Redirection 100K+ · 5.0★ (419) wp.org #8 ↑1 1 too low 8 Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205) wp.org #10 2 too low 9 PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #18 ↓3 9 too low 10 Otter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder for Gutenberg Editor & FSE 300K+ · 4.7★ (251) wp.org #11 1 too low 11 WP Visitor Statistics (Real Time Traffic) 20K+ · 4.5★ (156) wp.org #12 1 too low 12 Side Cart Woocommerce | Woocommerce Cart 70K+ · 4.9★ (453) wp.org #17 ↓4 5 too low 13 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #14 ↑4 1 too low 14 SiteGround Migrator 80K+ · 4.3★ (403) wp.org #15 ↓1 1 too low 15 YMC Filter 4K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #9 ↓3 6 too high 16 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) wp.org #13 ↓3 3 too high 17 Simple Calendar – Google Calendar Plugin 50K+ · 3.8★ (397) wp.org #16 1 too high 18 PixelYourSite – Your smart PIXEL (TAG) & API Manager 400K+ · 4.3★ (281) wp.org #19 1 too low 19 Google for WooCommerce 800K+ · 2.7★ (268) wp.org #5 14 too high 20 Page Speed Optimizer: HTTP/2 Push, Async JavaScript, and Defer CSS 6K+ · 4.7★ (64) wp.org #21 ↓2 1 too low 21 Internal Links Manager 10K+ · 4.8★ (33) wp.org #24 ↓2 3 too low 22 My Agile Privacy® – CMP, Cookie Consent & Privacy Tools 7K+ · 5.0★ (19) wp.org #22 ↓2 23 PDF Viewer Block for Gutenberg 10K+ · 4.8★ (9) wp.org #20 ↓3 3 too high 24 Hostinger Reach – AI-Powered Email Marketing for WordPress 1M+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #23 1 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.