Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “keepalive”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

pensopay Payments shows at wp.org #9 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 7 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

AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini places #2 on merit, 4.9★ from 874 reviews, but shows at wp.org #7. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Backup Migration 80K+ · 4.9★ (1338) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874) wp.org #7 5 too low 3 Advanced Form Integration — Connect Forms to 300+ Apps 9K+ · 4.8★ (91) wp.org #8 ↓1 5 too low 4 AnGo Scroll Analytics 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #1 3 too high 5 W WP Social AutoConnect 400+ · 4.4★ (13) wp.org #13 ↓1 8 too low 6 ModuleFest Cron Monitor – Scheduled Task Control Tower — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #3 3 too high 7 Dreamfoxmedia Form Analytics — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #4 ↓1 3 too high 8 Init View Count – AI-Powered, Trending, REST API 80+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #10 ↓1 2 too low 9 Zilco — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #5 ↓1 4 too high 10 Shakvaro Content Engine — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #6 4 too high 11 MARK Funnel for WooCommerce 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 ↓1 12 TrucePulse Analytics — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 ↓1 13 Markopolo AI for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↓1 2 too low 14 StoreSignals Connect — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↓1 2 too low 15 Snorklee Analytics – Cookieless GDPR Web Analytics — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↓1 2 too low 16 pensopay Payments 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 ↓1 7 too high 17 Tiamis – AI Live Chat — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓1 1 too low 18 WordSocket — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too high 19 Caretta AI Assistant — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓1 20 Aura Historia Partner Connect — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 21 Contexa AI Search — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓2 22 TMM Affiliate Blocks — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓2 23 EZDIGI Tool — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓2 24 Harvv Analytics — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓2

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.