Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “housing”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 5 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

Saturne Démarches shows at wp.org #5 but places #10 on merit, a gap of 5 places. Its 10+ 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

Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses and Phone Numbers places #3 on merit, 4.9★ from 94 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Advanced Woo Search – Product Search for WooCommerce 60K+ · 4.8★ (248) wp.org #2 ↓1 1 too low 2 Paiement par Carte DAHABIA et Carte CIB for WooCommerce 80+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #1 ↑1 1 too high 3 Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses and Phone Numbers 90K+ · 4.9★ (94) wp.org #15 ↓1 12 too low 4 Match Me for BuddyPress & BuddyBoss 200+ · 4.6★ (12) wp.org #17 ↓1 13 too low 5 Fluss.ai Real Estate Lead Flows 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 ELEX WooCommerce Address Validation & Google Address Autocomplete Plugin 700+ · 4.2★ (10) wp.org #16 ↓1 10 too low 7 Document Engine – Document Library, PDF Viewer & Post to PDF 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 Equiroof – Fair Housing Language & Rental Fee Disclosure — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #4 4 too high 9 Real Estate Listings Plugin for Professionals 10+ · 3.9★ (11) wp.org #21 ↓1 12 too low 10 Saturne Démarches 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 5 too high 11 S SmartMoney77 Financial Calculators 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 4 too high 12 Resource Library for Logged In Users 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 4 too high 13 Kalkulator dodatku mieszkaniowego — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 ↑1 4 too high 14 PHP Code Keeper for Gravity Forms 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 ↓1 4 too high 15 Noticewatch Contract Register — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 4 too high 16 H Hardcore AI SEO Content Generator — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 ↓1 4 too high 17 Gratuity Calculator UAE 2026 (MoHRE Updated) — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↓1 4 too high 18 McCrossenSEO — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓1 2 too low 19 MME Real Estate 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 ↓1 5 too high 20 ImmoWP Diagnostic DPE GES 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↓1 2 too high 21 RentPress for Websites 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓1 2 too high 22 T Trulia 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓1 2 too low 23 IDXMATRIX 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too high 24 P PropertyEngine Widgets Shortcodes 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↓1 1 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.