wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “hide payment method”
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 method”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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
ELEX WooCommerce Discount Per Payment Method shows at wp.org #10 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 3221 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. 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)
wp.org #1 2 
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #5 3 too low 3 
Payment Plugins for PayPal WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (127)
wp.org #4 1 too low 4 
WooCommerce PayPal Payments 800K+ · 2.9★ (583) low rating, top placement
wp.org #2 2 too high 5 
Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall 100K+ · 4.5★ (373)
wp.org #7 2 too low 6 
Easy Digital Downloads – eCommerce Payments and Subscriptions made easy 40K+ · 4.7★ (591)
wp.org #9 3 too low 7 
Hide Shipping Method For WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.0★ (25)
wp.org #3 4 too high 8 
PiWeb Disable payment method / Partial payment for WooCommerce 4K+ · 5.0★ (38)
wp.org #6 2 too high 9 
Paid Membership Subscriptions – Effortless Memberships, Recurring Payments & Content Restriction 10K+ · 4.7★ (270)
wp.org #14 5 too low 10 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221)
wp.org #21 ↑1 11 too low 11 
WooPayments: Integrated WooCommerce Payments 800K+ · 3.4★ (177)
wp.org #8 3 too high 12 
FunnelKit Payment Gateway for Stripe WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.9★ (53)
wp.org #13 1 too low 13 
Payment Plugins Braintree For WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.8★ (149)
wp.org #15 2 too low 14 
Pay for Payment for WooCommerce – Payment Gateway Fees & Discounts 10K+ · 4.7★ (71)
wp.org #16 2 too low 15 
Payment Gateway of Stripe for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.4★ (66)
wp.org #18 ↑1 3 too low 16 
Conditional Payments for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.6★ (28)
wp.org #17 1 too low 17 D Disable Payment Methods based on cart conditions for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.7★ (14) thin reviews
wp.org #12 5 too high 18 
Payment Gateway of PayPal for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.2★ (79)
wp.org #23 ↑1 5 too low 19 
Payment Methods by Product & Country for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.2★ (18) thin reviews
wp.org #11 8 too high 20 
Mollie Payments for WooCommerce 100K+ · 3.6★ (69)
wp.org #22 ↓1 2 too low 21 ELEX WooCommerce Discount Per Payment Method 1K+ · 4.3★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #10 11 too high 22 
Better Payment – Instant Payments, Donations, Fundraising with Subscriptions & More 5K+ · 4.6★ (14) thin reviews
wp.org #24 2 too low 23 
Hide Shipping Method conditionally for WooCommerce 100+ · 4.2★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #20 ↑1 3 too high 24 
Conditional Payment Methods for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #19 ↓1 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.