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← Rankings

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

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 “intel”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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 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

Quikly Payment Gateway shows at wp.org #15 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 9 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

WP-Appbox places #5 on merit, 4.5★ from 63 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #1 2 WCPOS – Point of Sale (POS) plugin for WooCommerce 5K+ · 3.7★ (84) wp.org #2 3 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #16 ↓1 13 too low 4 CenterShield – Site Security: Login Protection, 2FA, File Protection & Malware Scan 30+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #3 ↑9 1 too high 5 WP-Appbox 2K+ · 4.5★ (63) wp.org #23 18 too low 6 FFL Checkout by Texas Technology Group 20+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #9 ↓1 3 too low 7 ElementsBoost – Elementor Asset Cleanup & Page Speed Optimizer 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 Extended Post Status 1K+ · 4.5★ (11) wp.org #24 16 too low 9 Collect Browser Info — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 ↓1 4 too high 10 Nexura Security — Malware Scanner, Firewall, 2FA & WordPress Security 10+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #4 ↓1 6 too high 11 Visitor Sentinel — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 ↓2 4 too high 12 IntelTele SMS & Viber for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 ↓1 4 too high 13 TAPNET AI Hub — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 ↓1 3 too high 14 Ensomedia Security powered by shieldwave.io — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 ↑5 3 too high 15 DigitalPilot — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 ↓2 3 too high 16 Jolt SEO & AI — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↓2 3 too high 17 Shakvaro Shield — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↓1 3 too high 18 Eyesite Monitor 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↑3 1 too high 19 B Beryl Admin Gate — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓1 1 too high 20 TweakMaster — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 1 too high 21 C Customer Intelligence for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓2 1 too high 22 Spamify – Elastic Spam Shield — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 1 too high 23 RockScout AI — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 1 too high 24 Quikly Payment Gateway 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↓1 9 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.