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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “key vault”

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 “key vault”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 16 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

AI Marketing Expert — AI Email Marketing, AI Content Generator, SEO Analyzer, AI Workflow Automation, Social Media & Ai Chatbot shows at wp.org #3 but places #11 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 2K+ 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

Payment Gateway for PayPal on WooCommerce places #7 on merit, 4.4★ from 73 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Advanced IP Blocker 3K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 JS Help Desk – AI-Powered Support & Ticketing System 7K+ · 3.7★ (74) wp.org #9 7 too low 3 Notice Vault – Hide, Manage & Organize Admin Notices 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 Secure Passkeys 2K+ · 4.8★ (19) wp.org #17 ↓1 13 too low 5 Snippet Vault 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too high 6 HIPAA Compliant Forms with Drag’n’Drop HIPAA Form Builder. Sign HIPAA documents 400+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #13 7 too low 7 Payment Gateway for PayPal on WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.4★ (73) wp.org #22 15 too low 8 I Inspire Commerce Gateway for WooCommerce 10K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 3 too high 9 WC Moneris Payment Gateway 900+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 P Payment Gateway for PayPal Pro on WooCommerce 90+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #12 2 too low 11 AI Marketing Expert — AI Email Marketing, AI Content Generator, SEO Analyzer, AI Workflow Automation, Social Media & Ai Chatbot 2K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 ↑1 8 too high 12 FileDeck – Document Library, Download Manager & Client Portal 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #20 ↑1 8 too low 13 Easy Key-Values 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 5 too high 14 My Agile Pixel® – Self-Hosted Server-Side Tracking for WordPress 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 7 too high 15 FunnelKit Payment Gateway with PayPal for WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 5 too high 16 Advanced Age Verification Popup 700+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #24 8 too low 17 Syncific Vault — API Key Protection & Security — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 6 too high 18 PayLexer – Payment Integration Solution for WordPress (Stripe, PayPal, Paystack, and more) 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 ↓1 3 too low 19 Takumi Vault – Backup & Restore Manager — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↑1 5 too high 20 Foxry Vault — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↓1 5 too high 21 L License Key Vault — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↑1 3 too high 22 VaraStudy Vault Access Control — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 3 too high 23 NMI for WooCommerce 70+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↑1 7 too high 24 SiteIntelix – Developer & Admin Toolkit 10+ · 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.