Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “gateway”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 7 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

WooCommerce Payfast Gateway shows at wp.org #6 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 30K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform places #11 on merit, 4.6★ from 708 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway 700K+ · 3.1★ (237) wp.org #1 2 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Payment Gateway for PayPal on WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.4★ (73) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 FunnelKit Payment Gateway for Stripe WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.9★ (53) wp.org #4 5 Payment Gateway for Redsys & WooCommerce Lite 20K+ · 4.9★ (87) wp.org #8 ↓2 3 too low 6 Afterpay Gateway for WooCommerce 10K+ · 3.6★ (45) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 UPI QR Code Payment Gateway for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.8★ (256) wp.org #17 ↑4 10 too low 8 Invoice Payment Gateway for WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #9 ↓2 1 too low 9 Payment Gateway of Stripe for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.4★ (66) wp.org #11 ↓2 2 too low 10 Payment Gateway of PayPal for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.2★ (79) wp.org #12 ↓2 2 too low 11 GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) wp.org #23 ↓9 12 too low 12 Payment Gateway Based Fees and Discounts for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.7★ (58) wp.org #15 ↓3 3 too low 13 Secure Gateway for Authorize.net and WooCommerce by Pledged Plugins 10K+ · 4.9★ (34) wp.org #16 ↓2 3 too low 14 Invoice Gateway for WooCommerce – Invoice Payment Gateway 2K+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #10 ↓2 4 too high 15 Custom Payment Gateway for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.3★ (16) wp.org #13 ↓2 2 too high 16 Custom Payment Gateways for WooCommerce 8K+ · 3.8★ (21) wp.org #22 ↓3 6 too low 17 Revolut Gateway for WooCommerce 7K+ · 3.2★ (45) wp.org #24 ↓10 7 too low 18 I Inspire Commerce Gateway for WooCommerce 10K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 11 too high 19 WooCommerce Payfast Gateway 30K+ · 3.0★ (7) wp.org #6 ↓1 13 too high 20 Payment Gateway for Authorize.net for WooCommerce 800+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #14 ↑2 6 too high 21 Gateway Zibal for WooCommerce 8K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 ↓1 3 too high 22 SePay Gateway 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 ↓2 2 too high 23 Crypto Payment Gateway with Instant Payouts 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too high 24 Payment Gateway Icons For WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 5 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.