Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “laravel”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 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

Frumbik SMTP shows at wp.org #15 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 5 places. Its — 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Booter – Bots & Crawlers Manager 7K+ · 4.7★ (12) wp.org #1 2 OAuth Single Sign On – SSO (OAuth Client) 6K+ · 4.9★ (327) wp.org #5 ↓1 3 too low 3 WP OAuth Server ( Login with WordPress ) 1K+ · 4.9★ (41) wp.org #3 4 ABC Crypto Checkout 1K+ · 4.9★ (30) wp.org #4 ↑1 5 RoleMaster Suite – User Role Editor for E-Commerce, Membership & Admin Panel 700+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #2 3 too high 6 Hey Trisha — · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #9 ↓2 3 too low 7 L LexNova Content Types 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 ↑2 8 Ape Donate 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 9 WPRadio – WordPress Radio Streaming Plugin 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 Boostsite – AI Content Generator 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 11 GiftFlow – Donation & Fundraising — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 12 RSS Content Curator — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 13 L Lettr – Email API — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 14 WPBoutik 10+ · 3.0★ (7) wp.org #20 ↓1 6 too low 15 Ready POS for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 1 too high 16 CheckoutBridge — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 17 NexMailPro Email Validation — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 18 Condixia – REST Gateway — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 19 CaptchaCore — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↑1 20 Frumbik SMTP — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 5 too high 21 AI Provider for Osaurus — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 22 LucrativeIt Digital Download and Licensing — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↑1 23 Harvv Analytics — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↑1 24 Additional Checkout Fields for Woo — · 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.