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

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 “fx”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 16 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

Airwallex Online Payments Gateway shows at wp.org #4 but places #13 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 8K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.1★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Leaflet Maps Marker (Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, Bing Maps) places #7 on merit, 4.6★ from 244 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Revolut Gateway for WooCommerce 7K+ · 3.2★ (45) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Currency Converter Widget ⚡ PRO 300+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 MP3 Audio Player – Music Player, Podcast Player & Radio by Sonaar 20K+ · 4.8★ (302) wp.org #11 ↑2 8 too low 4 Booster for WooCommerce – PDF Invoices, Abandoned Cart, Variation Swatches & 100+ Tools 30K+ · 4.6★ (535) wp.org #14 ↓3 10 too low 5 Slider Hero with Video Background, Animation 3K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #7 ↑1 2 too low 6 Carousel Horizontal Posts Content Slider 2K+ · 4.1★ (76) wp.org #10 4 too low 7 Leaflet Maps Marker (Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, Bing Maps) 9K+ · 4.6★ (244) wp.org #20 13 too low 8 Init FX Engine – Interactive, Event-Driven, Lightweight 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #1 7 too high 9 Currency Converter Calculator 1K+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 True Lazy Analytics 5K+ · 4.7★ (11) wp.org #9 1 too high 11 Euro FxRef Currency Converter (by DKZR) 100+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #8 ↓1 3 too high 12 Exchange Rates Widget 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 7 too high 13 Airwallex Online Payments Gateway 8K+ · 2.1★ (7) wp.org #4 9 too high 14 AURPAY WooCommerce – Bitcoin/USDT Crypto Payment Gateway 70+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 3 too low 15 Social Chat Buttons 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 4 too low 16 FX Currency Converter 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 4 too high 17 Forex Calculators 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↑1 4 too high 18 CenterShield – Site Security: Login Protection, 2FA, File Protection & Malware Scan 30+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 5 too low 19 AURPAY Paid Memberships Pro (PMP) – Bitcoin Crypto Payment Gateway 20+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #24 5 too low 20 Tranzly™ – AI Translation & Multilingual 7K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 4 too high 21 Kurs Rublya FX Rates Calculator — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 22 Eezz FX Payout Estimator for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 23 AutoLingo — Automatic Translation for Polylang & WPML 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 5 too high 24 Rapyd Payment Extension for WooCommerce 500+ · 1.0★ (2) wp.org #15 9 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.