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← Rankings

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

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 “inflation”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Anacoder Calculators – 20+ Responsive Calculators & Embed Suite shows at wp.org #8 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 7 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

Ultimate Gift Cards for WooCommerce places #5 on merit, 4.7★ from 245 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Currency Converter Calculator 1K+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 WC Affiliate – WooCommerce Affiliate Plugin 300+ · 4.6★ (16) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 Exchange Rates Widget 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 JetBackup – Backup, Restore & Migrate 200K+ · 4.5★ (1056) wp.org #19 15 too low 5 Ultimate Gift Cards for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.7★ (245) wp.org #22 17 too low 6 Cost of Goods: Product Cost & Profit Calculator for WooCommerce 9K+ · 4.7★ (41) wp.org #21 15 too low 7 Vunelix Financial Widgets – Cryptocurrency, Stock Ticker & Forex 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 OneClick WP Hello 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 5 too high 9 FinCalc Toolkit – Financial Calculators 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 Ecommerce Fabrick 1K+ · 3.8★ (9) wp.org #20 10 too low 11 Quotelinks Investing Calculators — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 FinSpark: Calculator Suite — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 5 too high 13 I InvestBeacon Investment Calculators — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 3 too high 14 Ndizi Project Management 10+ · 3.5★ (4) wp.org #11 3 too high 15 Anacoder Calculators – 20+ Responsive Calculators & Embed Suite — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 7 too high 16 S SmartMoney77 Financial Calculators 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 4 too high 17 Modular Finance Calculators by M92 — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 4 too high 18 Advisers Calculators — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 4 too high 19 Gainly Calculators — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 4 too high 20 CloudScale Site Analytics — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 4 too high 21 Shortcode Arcade Crypto Idle Game — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 4 too high 22 AIO Calculators By Adittaw 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 4 too high 23 Pricimizer: Dynamic pricing for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 SR Partial Payments for WooCommerce 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 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.