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

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 “freemius”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 6 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

Embed Lottie Player – bring your pages to life with animation shows at wp.org #13 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 4K+ 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

NotificationX – FOMO, Live Sales Notification, WooCommerce Sales Popup, GDPR, Social Proof, Announcement Banner & Floating Notification Bar places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 228 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Webheadcoder Multi-Step Forms for Contact Form 7 50K+ · 4.2★ (49) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 HTML5 Video Player – embed fast, responsive videos with ease 20K+ · 4.6★ (195) wp.org #7 ↑2 5 too low 3 All In One Login 60K+ · 3.6★ (35) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Team Members Showcase 4K+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 Freemius for WordPress 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #1 4 too high 6 3D Viewer – Turn Product Pages into Interactive 3D Experiences 9K+ · 4.7★ (24) wp.org #6 ↓1 7 Button Block – Stylish buttons that get more clicks 5K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #3 4 too high 8 HTML5 Audio Player – The Ultimate No-Code Podcast, MP3 & Audio Player 10K+ · 4.6★ (169) wp.org #10 ↑3 2 too low 9 NotificationX – FOMO, Live Sales Notification, WooCommerce Sales Popup, GDPR, Social Proof, Announcement Banner & Floating Notification Bar 30K+ · 4.8★ (228) wp.org #16 ↓2 7 too low 10 Product Customer List for WooCommerce 9K+ · 4.9★ (75) wp.org #15 ↓3 5 too low 11 CF7 Apps – Addons for Contact Form 7 (Honeypot, Database, Redirection, Webhook, etc.) 300K+ · 3.8★ (135) wp.org #8 3 too high 12 Gutenslider — Slider Block for the Block Editor 10K+ · 4.0★ (65) wp.org #17 5 too low 13 Video Player for YouTube – Embed Videos Your Visitors Will Love to Watch 1K+ · 4.8★ (12) wp.org #11 ↓3 2 too high 14 Carousel Block – Showcase Images in Elegant Sliding Displays 7K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #9 ↓3 5 too high 15 Timeline Block – tell your story with elegant timelines 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #12 ↓2 3 too high 16 WP Top News — Build a Complete News Portal in WordPress 800+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #14 2 too high 17 Video Player Block – play videos beautifully on any device 2K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #18 ↓3 1 too low 18 Advanced Post Block – Display Your Posts Exactly How You Want 10K+ · 4.2★ (17) wp.org #21 ↓2 3 too low 19 Panorama – Turn Photos into Immersive Virtual Tours 2K+ · 4.3★ (9) wp.org #24 ↓3 5 too low 20 Embed Lottie Player – bring your pages to life with animation 4K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #13 ↓2 7 too high 21 Liza Widget For Spotify and Elementor 1K+ · 4.0★ (8) wp.org #19 ↓2 2 too high 22 Countdown Timer Block – build urgency for events and launches 2K+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #23 ↓4 1 too low 23 Local Pickup for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 ↓2 3 too high 24 Add LinkedIn Insight Tag for LinkedIn Ads 4K+ · 3.3★ (4) wp.org #22 ↓5 2 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.