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

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

Product Option Kit – Product Options & Addons for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #10 but places #22 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

Extra Product Options For WooCommerce | Custom Product Addons and Fields places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 219 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. 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 Product Options and Price Calculation Formulas for WooCommerce – Uni CPO 1K+ · 4.6★ (79) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Calculated Fields Form – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact, Payment, Quote, Quiz & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (973) wp.org #4 5 Data Tables Generator by Supsystic – Excel-like, WooCommerce & Pricing Tables 10K+ · 4.7★ (497) wp.org #5 6 Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397) wp.org #6 ↑1 7 Advanced Product Fields (Product Addons) for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.8★ (284) wp.org #7 ↑3 8 Product Addons for Woocommerce – Product Options with Custom Fields 30K+ · 4.9★ (474) wp.org #9 ↓3 1 too low 9 Cost Calculator Builder 20K+ · 4.5★ (393) wp.org #12 3 too low 10 Extra Product Options For WooCommerce | Custom Product Addons and Fields 30K+ · 4.9★ (219) wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too low 11 SureForms – Contact Form Builder, AI Forms, Payment Form, Survey & Quiz 500K+ · 4.8★ (102) wp.org #11 ↓2 12 Bulk Edit Posts and Products in Spreadsheet 7K+ · 4.8★ (217) wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too low 13 Bulk Edit Products for WooCommerce – WP Sheet Editor 10K+ · 4.9★ (228) wp.org #20 ↓1 7 too low 14 Recipe Cards For Your Food Blog from Zip Recipes 1K+ · 4.8★ (95) wp.org #17 ↓1 3 too low 15 Calculator Builder – Create an Online Calculator 1K+ · 4.7★ (18) wp.org #13 ↓2 2 too high 16 AIO Forms – Craft Complex Forms Easily 600+ · 4.9★ (34) wp.org #22 ↓4 6 too low 17 WPC Product Options for WooCommerce 4K+ · 4.1★ (10) wp.org #8 9 too high 18 Lenix Leads Collector 10K+ · 4.4★ (25) wp.org #19 1 too low 19 AliNext – AliExpress Dropshipping Plugin for WooCommerce 4K+ · 4.3★ (53) wp.org #24 ↓2 5 too low 20 PVB Contact Form 7 Calculator 600+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #18 ↓1 2 too high 21 Product Price by Formula for WooCommerce 100+ · 3.8★ (15) wp.org #15 ↓1 6 too high 22 Product Option Kit – Product Options & Addons for WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #10 ↑11 12 too high 23 Simple Mortgage Calculator 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #23 24 Export Customers Data 500+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #21 3 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.