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← Rankings

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

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 “interest”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 6 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

PayJustNow for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #12 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 1K+ 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

Popup Builder – Create highly converting, mobile friendly marketing popups. places #10 on merit, 4.7★ from 2215 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Polylang 900K+ · 4.7★ (3004) wp.org #2 ↑1 1 too low 2 Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too low 3 Quick Interest Slider 1K+ · 4.6★ (13) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery 300K+ · 4.3★ (4342) wp.org #4 ↑2 5 MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435) wp.org #5 6 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #6 ↑1 7 W WP-SCSS 40K+ · 4.3★ (61) wp.org #8 ↑15 1 too low 8 Responsive Mortgage Calculator 7K+ · 4.4★ (21) wp.org #10 ↓2 2 too low 9 Mortgage Calculator 4K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #7 ↑9 2 too high 10 Popup Builder – Create highly converting, mobile friendly marketing popups. 200K+ · 4.7★ (2215) wp.org #24 14 too low 11 Interactive Image Map Plugin – Draw Attention 20K+ · 4.9★ (114) wp.org #20 ↓7 9 too low 12 Asaas Gateway for WooCommerce 8K+ · 4.2★ (23) wp.org #18 ↓1 6 too low 13 Cool FormKit Lite – Advanced Form Builder for Elementor 20K+ · 4.6★ (25) wp.org #19 ↑1 6 too low 14 WP WooCommerce Mailchimp 5K+ · 4.3★ (35) wp.org #21 ↓2 7 too low 15 Pinterest for WooCommerce 200K+ · 2.3★ (68) wp.org #9 ↑2 6 too high 16 Simple Mortgage Calculator 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #13 ↑5 3 too high 17 QODE Wishlist for WooCommerce 10K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #11 ↓2 6 too high 18 Bandsintown Events 4K+ · 3.3★ (8) wp.org #14 ↓2 4 too high 19 Gmap Block 10K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 3 too low 20 seQura 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 ↓2 4 too high 21 Tamara Checkout 3K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 ↓2 4 too high 22 PayJustNow for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↓2 10 too high 23 EMI Calculator 600+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 8 too high 24 Loan Calculator 400+ · 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.