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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “k dev”

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 “k dev”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20.

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

Smart Admin Assistant shows at wp.org #9 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.3★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Advanced Dynamic Pricing and Discount Rules for WooCommerce places #9 on merit, 4.7★ from 123 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO 300K+ · 4.8★ (1268) wp.org #1 2 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #2 3 GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) wp.org #3 4 Debug Log Manager – Conveniently Monitor and Inspect Errors 10K+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Groundhogg — CRM, Newsletters, and Marketing Automation 2K+ · 4.8★ (150) wp.org #10 5 too low 6 Easy Digital Downloads – eCommerce Payments and Subscriptions made easy 40K+ · 4.7★ (592) wp.org #14 8 too low 7 Social Login 4K+ · 4.3★ (366) wp.org #13 6 too low 8 Custom Thank You Page for WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #4 4 too high 9 Advanced Dynamic Pricing and Discount Rules for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.7★ (123) wp.org #19 10 too low 10 Graphina – Charts and Graphs For Elementor 9K+ · 4.1★ (16) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 StoreEngine — Complete eCommerce Solution with Memberships, Licensing, Affiliates & More 700+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #11 12 DPD SK for WooCommerce 700+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #5 7 too high 13 Printcart Store – Web to Print Product Designer for WooCommerce 60+ · 4.1★ (12) wp.org #16 3 too low 14 Brazilian Checkout Toolkit for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 6 too high 15 Inline Context – Footnotes, Tooltips & Glossary Notes 40+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #12 3 too high 16 C CourseVerify – Student Identity Checkpoints — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 1 too low 17 Repetito Reusable Packaging — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 1 too low 18 MCP Logs — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 3 too high 19 Klassifieds for WooCommerce 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 1 too low 20 CodeClove School Management System — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 1 too low 21 Smart Admin Assistant 200+ · 3.3★ (3) wp.org #9 12 too high 22 Zoobbe – Project Management & Kanban Boards — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 23 SEOPulse – SEO tools to Boost your Rankings & Traffic — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 24 Newsroom OS – Google Discover, Google News, Schema & Editorial Workflow 40+ · 0.0★ (0) 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.