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

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 “influencer”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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

Impact: Partnership Cloud shows at wp.org #10 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Coupon Affiliates – Affiliate Plugin for WooCommerce places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 77 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 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #1 2 MalCare WordPress Security Plugin – Malware Scanner, Cleaner, Security Firewall 100K+ · 4.4★ (559) wp.org #2 3 Email Marketing for WooCommerce by Omnisend 40K+ · 4.9★ (169) wp.org #3 4 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 Redirection for Contact Form 7 200K+ · 4.7★ (275) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too high 6 Goaffpro Affiliate Marketing 4K+ · 4.8★ (44) wp.org #6 7 EleSpare – News, Magazine and Blog Addons for Elementor 10K+ · 4.9★ (44) wp.org #7 8 Wp Social Login and Register Social Counter 70K+ · 4.6★ (67) wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too low 9 Easy Social Feed – All In One Social Feed Plugin for WordPress 30K+ · 4.6★ (502) wp.org #16 ↓1 7 too low 10 Dokan: AI Powered WooCommerce Multivendor Marketplace Solution – Build Your Own Amazon, eBay, Etsy 30K+ · 4.6★ (769) wp.org #15 ↓1 5 too low 11 Smart Coupons For WooCommerce Coupons 30K+ · 4.7★ (133) wp.org #13 ↑3 2 too low 12 Coupon Affiliates – Affiliate Plugin for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.9★ (77) wp.org #22 10 too low 13 YITH WooCommerce Affiliates 6K+ · 4.2★ (19) wp.org #17 ↑1 4 too low 14 UTM Event Tracker and Analytics, UTM Grabber 800+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #14 ↓1 15 Enhanced Ecommerce Google Analytics for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #19 ↑1 4 too low 16 Tapfiliate 400+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #18 ↑1 2 too low 17 WPC Shoppable Images for WooCommerce 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #11 ↑1 6 too high 18 Refersion for WooCommerce 200+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #12 ↓1 6 too high 19 Affiliatly 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 ↑1 11 too high 20 Block for Mailchimp – grow your email list with signup forms 2K+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #23 ↑1 3 too low 21 Feeds for TikTok – Keep Your Site Fresh with Your Latest Videos 1K+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #20 ↑1 1 too high 22 Impact: Partnership Cloud 300+ · 2.0★ (4) wp.org #10 12 too high 23 ClickDesigns 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↑2 2 too high 24 My Social Feeds – bring your social content into WordPress 600+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24

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.