Plugin Pulse
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “home loan”

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

Home Affordability Calculator shows at wp.org #4 but places #10 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 80+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Stylish Cost Calculator – Quote Generator, Lead Gen & Price Estimator places #4 on merit, 4.8★ from 175 reviews, but shows at wp.org #12. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Loan Calculator WP 2K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #1 2 Responsive Mortgage Calculator 7K+ · 4.4★ (21) wp.org #2 3 Cost Calculator Builder 20K+ · 4.5★ (393) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 Stylish Cost Calculator – Quote Generator, Lead Gen & Price Estimator 1K+ · 4.8★ (175) wp.org #12 ↑1 8 too low 5 WPBot – AI ChatBot for Live Support, Lead Generation, WordPress Automation, AI Services 5K+ · 4.7★ (124) wp.org #9 4 too low 6 Motors – Car Dealership & Classified Listings Plugin 9K+ · 4.5★ (79) wp.org #7 ↑1 1 too low 7 Mortgage Calculators WP 3K+ · 4.7★ (10) wp.org #5 ↓1 2 too high 8 Simple Mortgage Calculator 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #3 5 too high 9 KnowledgeBase with AI ChatBot HelpDesk – KBx 30+ · 4.6★ (14) wp.org #20 ↓1 11 too low 10 Home Affordability Calculator 80+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #4 ↑1 6 too high 11 WPrequal 80+ · 4.3★ (4) wp.org #19 ↓3 8 too low 12 EH Mortgage Calculator – Loan & Amortization Calculator 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 1 too high 13 EMI Calculator 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 ↓1 5 too high 14 Smart Forms & Calculators By Embed Sheets 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 4 too high 15 Paiya Mortgage & Loan Calculator — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↓1 2 too high 16 T Take Home Pay Calculator — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 2 too high 17 Ecreate Calculators – Loan, Mortgage, BMI and Business Calculators — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 1 too high 18 Smart Calculators Suite — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↓2 1 too high 19 Gutenberg Block Toolkit – Page Builder for Gutenberg Blocks & Patterns 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓1 1 too high 20 Anacoder Calculators – 20+ Responsive Calculators & Embed Suite — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↑3 5 too high 21 WPApps Loan Calculator — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too low 22 Interest Rate Calculator – Calculator Hub HQ 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓1 1 too low 23 Get Mortgage — By Rehani — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓1 1 too low 24 Emi Loan Calculator 20+ · 1.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↓1 3 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.