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

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 “fundraising”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

SureDonation – Donation Forms, Fundraising Campaigns & Donor Management shows at wp.org #4 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 4K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin places #6 on merit, 4.9★ from 4358 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 GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) wp.org #1 2 Charitable – Donation & Fundraising Platform (Donation Forms, Recurring Donations & Fundraising Campaigns) 10K+ · 4.9★ (219) wp.org #2 3 Donation Platform for WooCommerce: Fundraising & Donation Management 7K+ · 4.9★ (99) wp.org #3 4 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221) wp.org #10 ↓3 6 too low 5 Donorbox – Free Recurring Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 8K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #5 ↑6 6 Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4358) wp.org #17 ↓4 11 too low 7 Wp Social Login and Register Social Counter 70K+ · 4.6★ (67) wp.org #13 ↑2 6 too low 8 FundEngine – Donation and Crowdfunding Platform 1K+ · 4.2★ (22) wp.org #7 ↓3 1 too high 9 Civist – Petitions and Fundraising 900+ · 4.6★ (19) wp.org #8 ↓2 1 too high 10 WhyDonate – FREE Donate button – Crowdfunding – Fundraising 800+ · 4.8★ (43) wp.org #9 ↑3 1 too high 11 Better Payment – Instant Payments, Donations, Fundraising with Subscriptions & More 5K+ · 4.6★ (14) wp.org #6 ↓1 5 too high 12 Paymattic – Secure, Simple Payment & Donation with Subscription Payments, Recurring Donations, Customer Management 3K+ · 4.8★ (44) wp.org #24 ↓5 12 too low 13 AidWP – Donation & Payment Forms (Stripe Powered) 800+ · 4.8★ (28) wp.org #22 ↓1 9 too low 14 EmailKit – Email Customizer for WooCommerce & WP 70K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #20 ↓2 6 too low 15 Donation Thermometer 2K+ · 4.4★ (12) wp.org #14 1 too high 16 Stripe Payment Forms by WP Full Pay – Accept Credit Card Payments, Donations & Subscriptions 8K+ · 4.2★ (26) wp.org #21 ↓1 5 too low 17 Ultimeter – the Ultimate Progress and Goals Meter 1K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #19 ↓2 2 too low 18 Mission – Donation Plugin for WordPress – Fundraising & Recurring Donations 70+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #12 ↓3 6 too high 19 SureDonation – Donation Forms, Fundraising Campaigns & Donor Management 4K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 ↑6 15 too high 20 Pronamic Pay with Mollie for Gravity Forms 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #18 2 too high 21 CharityGlow — Donations & Fundraising 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 2 too low 22 SKT Donation – Charity and Fundraising Plugin 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 ↓3 11 too high 23 ShopEngine Gutenberg WooCommerce Builder Blocks Addon – All in One WooCommerce Solution 3K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↑1 8 too high 24 Gratora – Donation and Fundraising Platform 30+ · 5.0★ (1) 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.