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

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 “gateways”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Clicks Manual Payment Gateways for Pakistan shows at wp.org #8 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 200+ 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

Import and export users and customers places #6 on merit, 4.7★ from 259 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. 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 Custom Payment Gateways for WooCommerce 8K+ · 3.8★ (21) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Bangladeshi Payment Gateways – Make Payment Using QR Code 4K+ · 5.0★ (92) wp.org #4 5 GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) wp.org #9 4 too low 6 Import and export users and customers 70K+ · 4.7★ (259) wp.org #15 ↑1 9 too low 7 FunnelKit Payment Gateway for Stripe WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.9★ (53) wp.org #13 ↓1 6 too low 8 D Disable Payment Methods based on cart conditions for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.7★ (14) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 UPI QR Code Payment Gateway for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.8★ (256) wp.org #14 ↓1 5 too low 10 Payment Gateway for PayPal on WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.4★ (73) wp.org #10 11 Payment Gateway Based Fees and Discounts for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.7★ (58) wp.org #11 ↑7 12 Payment Gateways by User Roles for WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #5 7 too high 13 Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184) wp.org #19 ↑1 6 too low 14 Payment Gateways by Shipping for WooCommerce 400+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #6 8 too high 15 Payment Gateway of Stripe for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.4★ (66) wp.org #23 8 too low 16 Custom Payment Gateways for WooCommerce 3K+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #21 ↓4 5 too low 17 Payment Gateway of PayPal for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.2★ (79) wp.org #24 ↓3 7 too low 18 Afterpay Gateway for WooCommerce 10K+ · 3.6★ (45) wp.org #18 ↓3 19 Payment Gateway Currency for WooCommerce 300+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #17 2 too high 20 Conditional Payment Gateways for WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #12 ↓1 8 too high 21 Invoice Gateway for WooCommerce – Invoice Payment Gateway 2K+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 Clicks Manual Payment Gateways for Pakistan 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 14 too high 23 WooCommerce Payfast Gateway 30K+ · 3.0★ (7) wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too high 24 Payment Gateways by Customer Location for WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↓2 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.