wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “flat”
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 “flat”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 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
Free shipping + Flat rate and hide other methods for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #8 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.7★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Discount Rules for WooCommerce places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 1395 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.
Flat Rate Shipping Method for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.2★ (76)
wp.org #1 2 
PI Advanced Flat rate / Conditional shipping for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.9★ (58)
wp.org #2 3 
Media Library Assistant 70K+ · 4.8★ (202)
wp.org #6 ↑2 3 too low 4 
Flat Rate per State/Country/Region for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.3★ (35)
wp.org #3 1 too high 5 
Easy Digital Downloads – eCommerce Payments and Subscriptions made easy 40K+ · 4.7★ (591)
wp.org #11 6 too low 6 
Weight Based Shipping for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.6★ (83)
wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too low 7 
Product Filter for WooCommerce by WBW 50K+ · 4.8★ (325)
wp.org #12 ↑7 5 too low 8 
Product Feed PRO for WooCommerce by AdTribes – Product Feeds for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.7★ (1072)
wp.org #15 ↑3 7 too low 9 
Docket Cache – Object Cache Accelerator 20K+ · 4.9★ (50)
wp.org #9 ↑7 10 
Advanced Product Fields (Product Addons) for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.8★ (284)
wp.org #14 ↓4 4 too low 11 Discount Rules for WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.9★ (1395)
wp.org #20 ↑1 9 too low 12 
FlatPM – Ad Manager, AdSense and Custom Code 10K+ · 4.6★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #4 8 too high 13 
UX Flat 2K+ · 4.7★ (13) thin reviews
wp.org #5 8 too high 14 
3D FlipBook – PDF Embedder, PDF Flipbook Viewer, Flipbook Image Gallery 70K+ · 4.8★ (182)
wp.org #17 3 too low 15 
Paid Membership Subscriptions – Effortless Memberships, Recurring Payments & Content Restriction 10K+ · 4.7★ (270)
wp.org #19 4 too low 16 
USPS Simple Shipping for Woocommerce 8K+ · 4.4★ (28)
wp.org #10 ↓1 6 too high 17 
Document Embedder – let visitors read files without downloading 9K+ · 4.9★ (120)
wp.org #24 7 too low 18 
Conditional Shipping for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.6★ (22) thin reviews
wp.org #13 5 too high 19 
morkva UA Shipping – Nova Poshta, Ukrposhta, Rozetka, Nova Global 1K+ · 4.9★ (29)
wp.org #22 3 too low 20 
Affiliates Manager 8K+ · 4.1★ (61)
wp.org #23 3 too low 21 
Product Attachment for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.5★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #21 22 
ELEX WooCommerce Product Price Custom Text (Before & After Text) and Discount 2K+ · 4.6★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↓2 6 too high 23 
WPC Product Options for WooCommerce 4K+ · 4.1★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↑2 5 too high 24 Free shipping + Flat rate and hide other methods for WooCommerce 200+ · 3.7★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #8 ↓1 16 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.