wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “hide payment 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 “hide payment gateway”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 8 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
Payment Gateway for PhonePe and for Woocommerce shows at wp.org #13 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 800+ 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
Easy Digital Downloads – eCommerce Payments and Subscriptions made easy places #11 on merit, 4.7★ from 591 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Payment Plugins for Stripe WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.8★ (303) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #1 2 
Payment Plugins for PayPal WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (127) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too low 3 
FunnelKit Payment Gateway for Stripe WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.9★ (53)
wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too low 4 
WooCommerce PayPal Payments 800K+ · 2.9★ (583) throws errorsnot PHP-current low rating, top placement
wp.org #2 ↑1 2 too high 5 
Payment Plugins Braintree For WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.8★ (149)
wp.org #8 ↑2 3 too low 6 
Paid Membership Subscriptions – Effortless Memberships, Recurring Payments & Content Restriction 10K+ · 4.7★ (270)
wp.org #12 ↑1 6 too low 7 
Payment Gateway of Stripe for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.4★ (66) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #5 ↑1 2 too high 8 
Pay for Payment for WooCommerce – Payment Gateway Fees & Discounts 10K+ · 4.7★ (71)
wp.org #10 ↑1 2 too low 9 
UPI QR Code Payment Gateway for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.8★ (256) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #9 10 
Payment Gateway of PayPal for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.2★ (79) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #6 ↑1 4 too high 11 Easy Digital Downloads – eCommerce Payments and Subscriptions made easy 40K+ · 4.7★ (591)
wp.org #19 ↓1 8 too low 12 
Payment Gateway Based Fees and Discounts for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.7★ (58) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #11 ↑9 1 too high 13 
Custom Payment Gateway for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.3★ (16) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #7 ↑1 6 too high 14 
PiWeb Disable payment method / Partial payment for WooCommerce 4K+ · 5.0★ (38) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #22 ↑2 8 too low 15 
Secure Gateway for Authorize.net and WooCommerce by Pledged Plugins 10K+ · 4.9★ (34) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #21 ↑2 6 too low 16 D Disable Payment Methods based on cart conditions for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.7★ (14) thin reviews
wp.org #20 ↑2 4 too low 17 
Invoice Gateway for WooCommerce – Invoice Payment Gateway 2K+ · 4.4★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #15 2 too high 18 
Payment Methods by Product & Country for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.2★ (18) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #16 2 too high 19 
Paysera Payment Gateway for WooCommerce 7K+ · 2.9★ (16) thin reviews
wp.org #17 2 too high 20 
SUMIT Payment Gateway for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #14 6 too high 21 
Better Payment – Instant Payments, Donations, Fundraising with Subscriptions & More 5K+ · 4.6★ (14) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #24 3 too low 22 
UPI QR Code Payment Gateway 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↑1 4 too high 23 
Conditional Payment Gateways for WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #23 24 Payment Gateway for PhonePe and for Woocommerce 800+ · 5.0★ (1) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #13 ↓1 11 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.