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← Rankings

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

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

Product Option Kit – Product Options & Addons for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #11 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Bulk Edit Posts and Products in Spreadsheet places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 217 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625) wp.org #1 2 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Calculated Fields Form – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact, Payment, Quote, Quiz & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (973) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Product Options and Price Calculation Formulas for WooCommerce – Uni CPO 1K+ · 4.6★ (79) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 Data Tables Generator by Supsystic – Excel-like, WooCommerce & Pricing Tables 10K+ · 4.7★ (497) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 Cost Calculator Builder 20K+ · 4.5★ (393) wp.org #8 ↑5 1 too low 8 Advanced Product Fields (Product Addons) for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.8★ (284) wp.org #9 ↑2 1 too low 9 Product Addons for Woocommerce – Product Options with Custom Fields 30K+ · 4.9★ (474) wp.org #12 ↓4 3 too low 10 SureForms – Contact Form Builder, AI Forms, Payment Form, Survey & Quiz 500K+ · 4.8★ (102) wp.org #13 ↓3 3 too low 11 Bulk Edit Posts and Products in Spreadsheet 7K+ · 4.8★ (217) wp.org #17 6 too low 12 Extra Product Options For WooCommerce | Custom Product Addons and Fields 30K+ · 4.9★ (219) wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too low 13 My Agile Privacy® – CMP, Cookie Consent & Privacy Tools 7K+ · 5.0★ (19) wp.org #14 1 too low 14 Product Price by Formula for WooCommerce 100+ · 3.8★ (15) wp.org #5 9 too high 15 Bulk Edit Products for WooCommerce – WP Sheet Editor 10K+ · 4.9★ (228) wp.org #22 ↓1 7 too low 16 Recipe Cards For Your Food Blog from Zip Recipes 1K+ · 4.8★ (95) wp.org #18 ↓2 2 too low 17 Calculator Builder – Create an Online Calculator 1K+ · 4.7★ (18) wp.org #15 ↓3 2 too high 18 AIO Forms – Craft Complex Forms Easily 600+ · 4.9★ (34) wp.org #24 ↓4 6 too low 19 Lenix Leads Collector 10K+ · 4.4★ (25) wp.org #21 2 too low 20 Simple Product Options for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.7★ (35) wp.org #20 ↓1 21 WPC Product Options for WooCommerce 4K+ · 4.1★ (10) wp.org #10 ↓1 11 too high 22 PVB Contact Form 7 Calculator 600+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #19 ↓1 3 too high 23 Product Option Kit – Product Options & Addons for WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #11 ↑11 12 too high 24 Export Customers Data 500+ · 5.0★ (3) 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.