Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “get”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Get Cash shows at wp.org #6 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 400+ 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

Customer Reviews for WooCommerce places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 1539 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #1 2 Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012) wp.org #2 ↑5 3 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too low 4 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #10 ↑3 6 too low 5 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #9 ↑3 4 too low 6 Request a Quote for WooCommerce – Get a Quote Button 6K+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #3 ↓1 3 too high 7 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #7 ↑4 8 BuddyPress 90K+ · 4.1★ (375) wp.org #8 9 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #11 ↓2 2 too low 10 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #15 ↓1 5 too low 11 Customer Reviews for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (1539) wp.org #18 ↑1 7 too low 12 Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #13 ↓3 1 too low 13 Get Use APIs – JSON Content Importer 5K+ · 4.9★ (78) wp.org #12 ↓6 1 too high 14 WP 2FA – Two-factor authentication for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (184) wp.org #17 3 too low 15 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #24 ↓3 9 too low 16 The SEO Framework – Fast, Automated, Effortless. 200K+ · 4.9★ (380) wp.org #19 3 too low 17 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1668) wp.org #23 ↑1 6 too low 18 Button Block – Stylish buttons that get more clicks 5K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #5 ↓1 13 too high 19 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #21 ↓5 2 too low 20 Giveaways and Contests by RafflePress – Get More Website Traffic, Email Subscribers, and Social Followers 20K+ · 3.9★ (43) wp.org #22 ↓2 2 too low 21 Buy one Get one Free – BOGO discount rule maker for WooCommerce 400+ · 3.5★ (26) wp.org #16 ↑1 5 too high 22 WooCommerce PayPal Payments 800K+ · 2.9★ (583) wp.org #20 2 too high 23 Get Cash 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 ↓3 17 too high 24 Cron Setup and Monitor – Get URL Cron 1K+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #14 ↑1 10 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.