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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “free software”

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 software”, we agree with wp.org 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

MH Free Gifts for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #5 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 600+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 807 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 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8708) wp.org #1 2 Contact Form 7 10M+ · 4.0★ (2186) wp.org #2 3 Auto-Install Free SSL – Generate & Install Free SSL Certificates 8K+ · 4.9★ (405) wp.org #3 4 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #4 5 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 3CX Free Live Chat, Calls & Messaging 100K+ · 4.6★ (820) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 ManageWP Worker 1M+ · 4.6★ (679) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 Easy Digital Downloads – eCommerce Payments and Subscriptions made easy 40K+ · 4.7★ (591) wp.org #11 3 too low 9 BuddyPress 90K+ · 4.1★ (375) wp.org #9 10 LiveChat – Live Chat Plugin for WP Websites 10K+ · 4.6★ (98) wp.org #10 11 Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #18 7 too low 12 WP Travel Engine – Tour Booking Plugin – Tour Operator Software 20K+ · 4.9★ (594) wp.org #19 7 too low 13 WP Datepicker 6K+ · 4.8★ (37) wp.org #15 2 too low 14 Widgets for Reviews & Recommendations 8K+ · 4.6★ (98) wp.org #21 7 too low 15 Nelio A/B Testing – AB Tests and Heatmaps for Better Conversion Optimization 4K+ · 4.8★ (99) wp.org #23 8 too low 16 BEAR – Bulk Editor for WooCommerce Professional. AI assistant on board (MCP Server) 30K+ · 4.7★ (228) wp.org #20 4 too low 17 WP Sort Order 6K+ · 4.5★ (17) wp.org #12 5 too high 18 MyLiveChat – Free Live Chat & AI Chatbot 800+ · 4.4★ (27) wp.org #14 4 too high 19 Multibanco, MB WAY, Credit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Payshop, and PIX (ifthenpay) for WooCommerce 8K+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #13 6 too high 20 Stripe Payment Forms by WP Full Pay – Accept Credit Card Payments, Donations & Subscriptions 8K+ · 4.2★ (26) wp.org #17 3 too high 21 MH Free Gifts for WooCommerce 600+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #5 16 too high 22 W WP-dTree 2K+ · 4.8★ (25) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 LightPress Lightbox 40K+ · 4.6★ (72) wp.org #22 1 too high 24 Cowboy MCP – Free MCP Server with Undo for Claude & ChatGPT 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #16 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.