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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “grant reporting”

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

WP Global Site Tag shows at wp.org #7 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 7K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Uncanny Automator – AI + Automation for WordPress | AI Agent, AI Page Builder, Free AI Usage Included places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 157 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 Password Protected 300K+ · 4.4★ (142) wp.org #1 2 Download Monitor 80K+ · 4.5★ (525) wp.org #2 3 Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528) wp.org #3 4 BlogVault Backup & Staging 80K+ · 4.6★ (332) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Affiliates 2K+ · 4.5★ (137) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 Poptin – Email Marketing Automation, Newsletter & Exit Pop Ups, Email Popups 20K+ · 4.9★ (701) wp.org #9 2 too low 8 CAOS | Host Google Analytics Locally 10K+ · 4.9★ (128) wp.org #10 2 too low 9 FluentCart A New Era of eCommerce – Faster, Lighter, and Simpler 9K+ · 4.5★ (46) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 Uncanny Automator – AI + Automation for WordPress | AI Agent, AI Page Builder, Free AI Usage Included 40K+ · 4.9★ (157) wp.org #18 8 too low 11 Payment forms, Buy now buttons, and Invoicing System | GetPaid 5K+ · 4.5★ (46) wp.org #11 12 Plausible Analytics 10K+ · 5.0★ (29) wp.org #15 3 too low 13 Sprout Invoices – Client Invoicing & Estimates 1K+ · 4.4★ (191) wp.org #20 7 too low 14 If-So Dynamic Content – Elementor & All Page Builders Personalization 7K+ · 4.7★ (92) wp.org #22 8 too low 15 FluentBoards – Project Management, Task Management, Goal Tracking, Kanban Board, and, Team Collaboration 6K+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #19 4 too low 16 WP OAuth Server (OAuth Authentication) 3K+ · 3.8★ (41) wp.org #17 1 too low 17 Secure MCP Server for Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini and other AI Agents 8K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #14 3 too high 18 Library Viewer 400+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #21 3 too low 19 Editoria11y Accessibility Checker 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #13 6 too high 20 Membership & User Roles for WooCommerce (Automatic Role Changer) 400+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #12 8 too high 21 WP Global Site Tag 7K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 14 too high 22 Affiracle Affiliate Marketing 40+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 Event Bridge for ActivityPub 70+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 SMTP for Contact Form 7 1K+ · 4.0★ (2) 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.