wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “free sample”
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 “free sample”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 3 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
Free Product Samples for WooCommerce – Try Before You Buy, Request Samples by Mail shows at wp.org #2 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 60+ 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
Appointment Hour Booking – Booking Calendar places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 524 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
AI-Powered Carousel, Slider, Video & Photo Gallery Blocks by WP Carousel 60K+ · 4.7★ (434)
wp.org #3 2 too low 2 
Free Product Sample for WooCommerce 200+ · 3.6★ (34) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #1 1 too high 3 
WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 
Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296)
wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too low 5 
Advanced Coupons for WooCommerce – BOGO, Store Credit & WooCommerce Coupons 20K+ · 4.4★ (184)
wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too low 6 
MC4WP: Mailchimp for WordPress 1M+ · 4.8★ (1497)
wp.org #9 ↓1 3 too low 7 
PDF Embedder – PDF Viewer & Embed PDF Files for WordPress 300K+ · 4.7★ (529)
wp.org #14 ↓1 7 too low 8 
GIFTiT – Free Gifts for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.2★ (43) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #5 ↓1 3 too high 9 
Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) not PHP-current
wp.org #12 ↓2 3 too low 10 
PI Advanced Flat rate / Conditional shipping for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.9★ (58)
wp.org #11 ↓2 1 too low 11 Appointment Hour Booking – Booking Calendar 10K+ · 4.9★ (524)
wp.org #24 13 too low 12 
Product Import Export for WooCommerce – CSV Product Importer & Exporter 80K+ · 4.6★ (413) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #13 ↓2 1 too low 13 
WP-Sweep 100K+ · 4.7★ (138)
wp.org #17 ↓2 4 too low 14 
BetterDocs – AI Documentation, Knowledge Base, MCP Server, Docs, Wikis, FAQ & Chatbot 30K+ · 4.8★ (515) heavy footprint
wp.org #23 ↓5 9 too low 15 
MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #15 ↓3 16 
Master Slider – Responsive Touch Slider 60K+ · 4.6★ (504) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #19 ↓2 3 too low 17 
Index WP MySQL For Speed 50K+ · 4.8★ (99) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #21 ↑3 4 too low 18 Free Product Samples for WooCommerce – Try Before You Buy, Request Samples by Mail 60+ · 3.7★ (3) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #2 16 too high 19 
Essential Real Estate 7K+ · 4.3★ (52) not PHP-current
wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too low 20 
Ocean Extra 400K+ · 3.3★ (67)
wp.org #22 2 too low 21 
PlayerJS – Free Custom HTML5 Video and Audio Player Builder 900+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↓2 3 too high 22 
Free Shipping Excluder for WooCommerce 80+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #8 ↓1 14 too high 23 
Inspiro Starter Sites – 20+ Free Demo Templates for Gutenberg & Elementor 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #10 13 too high 24 
Free Product for WooCommerce 200+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↓2 8 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.