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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “inbound stock”

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 “inbound stock”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 2 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

Akantio POS shows at wp.org #11 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 5 places. Its — 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

WebinarIgnition – AI & MCP Webinar Builder: Live, Automated & Evergreen Webinars also for WooCommerce places #7 on merit, 4.5★ from 50 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 ATUM WooCommerce Inventory Management and Stock Tracking 10K+ · 4.7★ (128) wp.org #1 2 BjornTech PayPal POS integration for WooCommerce 700+ · 5.0★ (18) wp.org #2 3 Oliver POS – WooCommerce POS for iPhone, iPad & Android 700+ · 4.2★ (90) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Print Labels with Barcodes. Create price tags, product labels, order labels for WooCommerce 900+ · 4.5★ (73) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 Broadcast 1K+ · 4.9★ (214) wp.org #9 4 too low 6 WP Helper Premium 1K+ · 3.6★ (8) wp.org #3 3 too high 7 WebinarIgnition – AI & MCP Webinar Builder: Live, Automated & Evergreen Webinars also for WooCommerce 80+ · 4.5★ (50) wp.org #16 9 too low 8 PushAI – Self-Hosted Web Push Notifications 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 3 too high 9 AI Marketing Expert — AI Email Marketing, AI Content Generator, SEO Analyzer, AI Workflow Automation, Social Media & Ai Chatbot 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 Axtolab AI Connector 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 2 too high 11 Kitgenix Stock Sync for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 1 too high 12 Hack The SEO – AI Bot Tracker, GEO Score, JSON-LD Schema & Cannibalization 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 5 too low 13 TopDawg Wholesale Dropshipping 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 1 too high 14 LolaCore – AI Admin Agent 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 1 too high 15 Lestari Importer for Woo with Shopee 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 1 too high 16 Akantio POS — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 5 too high 17 Blaze AI Discovery for WooCommerce 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 2 too high 18 E-Khata — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓1 2 too low 19 mozzeno – installment payment — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too low 20 Dukandar AI Shopping Assistant for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓1 2 too low 21 Pingvera — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↓1 2 too high 22 MetaBox Fulfillment 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓1 4 too high 23 SiteHale 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24 ↓1 1 too low 24 WebHosting4U Secure Card Gateway for ePay Paycenter (Piraeus Bank) 20+ · 0.0★ (0) 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.