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

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 “incentives”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

myCred Addons – Ultimate myCred Modules To Support WordPress Gamification and Loyalty Rewards shows at wp.org #12 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 400+ 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

Smart Coupons For WooCommerce Coupons places #6 on merit, 4.7★ from 133 reviews, but shows at wp.org #10. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery 300K+ · 4.3★ (4342) wp.org #1 2 Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Notibar – Notification Bar for WordPress 8K+ · 4.8★ (71) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 WebToffee eCommerce Marketing Automation – Email marketing, Popups, Email customizer 10K+ · 4.8★ (54) wp.org #5 ↑2 1 too low 5 Payment Gateway Based Fees and Discounts for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.7★ (58) wp.org #7 ↑5 2 too low 6 Smart Coupons For WooCommerce Coupons 30K+ · 4.7★ (133) wp.org #10 ↑8 4 too low 7 Sliding Cart for WooCommerce by FunnelKit – Skip Cart & Reach WooCommerce Checkout Faster 30K+ · 5.0★ (111) wp.org #11 ↑2 4 too low 8 Modern Cart – WooCommerce Side Cart & Popup Cart 60K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #6 ↑2 2 too high 9 Goaffpro Affiliate Marketing 4K+ · 4.8★ (44) wp.org #8 ↑2 1 too high 10 Power Coupons for WooCommerce 30K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #2 8 too high 11 Subscriptions for WooCommerce with Stripe Recurring Payments 1K+ · 4.9★ (25) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 Discount Rules and Dynamic Pricing for WooCommerce 9K+ · 4.7★ (248) wp.org #16 ↑4 4 too low 13 Charitable – Donation & Fundraising Platform (Donation Forms, Recurring Donations & Fundraising Campaigns) 10K+ · 4.9★ (219) wp.org #19 ↑2 6 too low 14 Free Shipping Bar: Amount Left for Free Shipping for WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (26) wp.org #13 ↑3 1 too high 15 Free Shipping Label and Progress Bar for WooCommerce 5K+ · 5.0★ (43) wp.org #18 ↑1 3 too low 16 Scratch & Win – Giveaways and Contests. Boost subscribers, traffic, repeat visits, referrals, sales and more 100+ · 4.7★ (30) wp.org #17 ↓6 1 too low 17 WiserReview Product Reviews for WooCommerce 900+ · 5.0★ (34) wp.org #21 ↑3 4 too low 18 WPC Grouped Product for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #20 ↑2 2 too low 19 Solar Wizard Lite 200+ · 4.7★ (14) wp.org #14 5 too high 20 Sublium Subscriptions – Subscriptions for WooCommerce – Recurring Payments, Subscription Plans & Installments 700+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #24 4 too low 21 YITH Pre-Order for WooCommerce 6K+ · 3.1★ (16) wp.org #15 ↑2 6 too high 22 Dynamic Pricing and Discount Rules for WooCommerce 600+ · 4.0★ (13) wp.org #22 23 AdX Ad Inserter – Adsense and Ad Manager Ads 80+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #23 24 myCred Addons – Ultimate myCred Modules To Support WordPress Gamification and Loyalty Rewards 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↑3 12 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.