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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “js cookie”

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 “js cookie”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 2 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

CookieAdmin – Cookie Consent Banner shows at wp.org #10 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 400K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 4228 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 GDPR Cookie Compliance – Cookie Banner, Cookie Consent, Cookie Notice for CCPA, EU Cookie Law 300K+ · 4.6★ (205) wp.org #1 2 Cookie Compliance for WordPress – Cookie Consent, GDPR & CCPA 800K+ · 4.8★ (3026) wp.org #2 3 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 FAZ Cookie Manager 3K+ · 5.0★ (30) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 iubenda | All-in-one Compliance for GDPR / CCPA Cookie Consent + more 200K+ · 4.7★ (397) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 WPLP Cookie Consent – Cookie Banner & Consent Management for GDPR, CCPA & Google Consent Mode 9K+ · 4.6★ (51) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Pressidium Cookie Consent 10K+ · 4.7★ (40) wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too low 8 Cookiebot – Cookie Banner & Cookie Consent for GDPR, CCPA & Google Consent Mode 100K+ · 4.4★ (440) wp.org #14 ↑1 6 too low 9 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #18 ↓1 9 too low 10 Autoptimize 800K+ · 4.7★ (1428) wp.org #17 ↑2 7 too low 11 Beautiful Cookie Consent Banner 40K+ · 4.5★ (95) wp.org #12 1 too low 12 WF Cookie Consent 10K+ · 5.0★ (27) wp.org #11 1 too high 13 Italy Cookie Choices (for EU Cookie Law & Cookie Notice) 9K+ · 4.5★ (35) wp.org #9 ↓1 4 too high 14 Orbit Fox: Duplicate Page, Menu Icons, SVG Support, Cookie Notice, Custom Fonts & More 100K+ · 4.8★ (317) wp.org #20 ↑4 6 too low 15 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #22 ↓1 7 too low 16 Kansleri Cookie Consent 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #7 ↑2 9 too high 17 Woody Code Snippets – Insert PHP, CSS, JS, and Header/Footer Scripts 50K+ · 4.5★ (221) wp.org #21 ↓1 4 too low 18 SureCookie – GDPR Cookie Consent Banner, Cookie Scanner & Script Blocking 70K+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #15 ↓1 3 too high 19 ATR Cookie Notice 1K+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #13 6 too high 20 Seers AI | Cookie Consent Banner – GDPR & CCPA Compliant Consent Management Platform 1K+ · 4.7★ (52) wp.org #24 ↓1 4 too low 21 Free Cookie Notice & Consent Banner for Privacy Compliance (GDPR, CCPA, DSGVO and others) 7K+ · 4.0★ (16) wp.org #16 5 too high 22 CookieAdmin – Cookie Consent Banner 400K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #10 12 too high 23 Lynbro Cookie Consent 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #23 ↓1 24 IL Privacy & Cookie Consent 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 ↓1 5 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.