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

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 “kick”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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.

R

Ranked above its merit

Recent Category Posts Widget shows at wp.org #6 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

10Web Booster – Website speed optimization, Cache & Page Speed optimizer places #5 on merit, 4.6★ from 405 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Advanced Responsive Video Embedder for Rumble, Odysee, YouTube, Vimeo, Kick … 20K+ · 4.2★ (169) wp.org #1 2 WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Wp-Insert 9K+ · 4.5★ (142) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Missed Scheduled Posts Publisher by WPBeginner 20K+ · 4.9★ (60) wp.org #7 ↑1 3 too low 5 10Web Booster – Website speed optimization, Cache & Page Speed optimizer 60K+ · 4.6★ (405) wp.org #13 8 too low 6 Discount Rules and Dynamic Pricing for WooCommerce 9K+ · 4.7★ (248) wp.org #11 5 too low 7 Loggedin – Session Manager, Limit Concurrent Logins & Force Logout 8K+ · 4.9★ (112) wp.org #12 5 too low 8 StreamWeasels Online Status Bar 400+ · 4.2★ (11) wp.org #4 4 too high 9 Equal Height Columns 10K+ · 4.9★ (41) wp.org #14 5 too low 10 Ocean Extra 400K+ · 3.3★ (67) wp.org #8 ↑1 2 too high 11 Kubio AI Page Builder 80K+ · 4.4★ (79) wp.org #16 ↑1 5 too low 12 StreamWeasels Kick Integration 80+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #2 10 too high 13 URL Shortify – Simple and Easy URL Shortener 10K+ · 4.7★ (169) wp.org #23 10 too low 14 Superb Addons: Blocks, Patterns, Pre-built Pages, Sliders, Popups, Free Forms, Animations & More 80K+ · 4.9★ (23) wp.org #18 ↑1 4 too low 15 Patreon WordPress 3K+ · 3.4★ (55) wp.org #15 16 Header Footer Builder for Elementor 30K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #9 ↑7 7 too high 17 BlockArt Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder Blocks ,WordPress Block Plugin, Sections & Template Library 10K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #21 4 too low 18 The Cache Purger 1K+ · 4.5★ (6) wp.org #10 8 too high 19 R Recent Category Posts Widget 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 13 too high 20 Code Engine – PHP Snippets, AI Functions & Automation for WordPress 800+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #22 2 too low 21 Superb Social Media Share Buttons and Follow Buttons 6K+ · 4.4★ (11) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 FundPress – WordPress Donation Plugin 300+ · 3.8★ (4) wp.org #20 2 too high 23 ATmosphere 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 ↓10 6 too high 24 Free shipping + Flat rate and hide other methods for WooCommerce 200+ · 3.7★ (3) 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.