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

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 “launch”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 5 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

Simple Countdown Timer – Sales, Launch and Event Countdowns shows at wp.org #3 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 1K+ 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

All-in-one Sticky Floating Contact Form, Call, Click to Chat, and 50+ Social Icon Tabs – My Sticky Elements places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 542 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 signals wp.org

Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty 300K+ · 5.0★ (1244) wp.org #2 ↑2 1 too low 2

WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #1 1 too high 3

MultiVendorX – WooCommerce Multivendor Marketplace AI Powered Solutions 2K+ · 4.8★ (432) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #4 ↑6 1 too low 4

WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (199) wp.org #7 ↑2 3 too low 5

CMP – Coming Soon & Maintenance Plugin by NiteoThemes 200K+ · 4.7★ (326) wp.org #8 ↑7 3 too low 6

Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #6 7

Starter Templates: AI-Powered Website Templates for Elementor & Gutenberg 1M+ · 4.9★ (4755) wp.org #11 ↓2 4 too low 8

HivePress – Business Directory, Listings & Classified Ads Plugin 10K+ · 4.9★ (222) wp.org #15 ↑6 7 too low 9

Joinchat – Enhanced “click to chat” 700K+ · 4.7★ (189) wp.org #12 ↓4 3 too low 10

UserFeedback – Create Interactive Feedback Form, User Surveys, and Polls in Seconds 200K+ · 4.8★ (309) wp.org #16 ↓1 6 too low 11

WP Maintenance 60K+ · 4.7★ (98) not PHP-current wp.org #10 ↓3 1 too high 12

All-in-one Sticky Floating Contact Form, Call, Click to Chat, and 50+ Social Icon Tabs – My Sticky Elements 40K+ · 4.9★ (542) wp.org #22 10 too low 13

Poptin – Email Marketing Automation, Newsletter & Exit Pop Ups, Email Popups 20K+ · 4.9★ (701) wp.org #23 10 too low 14

Starter Templates & Sites Pack by ThemeGrill 70K+ · 4.7★ (197) not PHP-current wp.org #14 ↓1 15

Directorist: AI-Powered Business Directory, Listings & Classified Ads 20K+ · 4.6★ (698) not PHP-current wp.org #20 5 too low 16

reSmush.it : The original free image compressor and optimizer plugin 100K+ · 4.3★ (166) wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too low 17

Hostinger Reach – AI-Powered Email Marketing for WordPress 1M+ · 5.0★ (8) host-installed base thin reviews wp.org #5 ↑1 12 too high 18

WP Map Block – Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, Mapbox, Store & Shop Locator, Directory, Listings & Filters 20K+ · 4.0★ (20) thin reviews wp.org #13 ↓1 5 too high 19

Simple Countdown Timer – Sales, Launch and Event Countdowns 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) not PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #3 16 too high 20

Google for WooCommerce 800K+ · 2.7★ (268) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #9 ↓7 11 too high 21 T Themify Popup 8K+ · 4.9★ (11) thin reviews wp.org #19 ↓1 2 too high 22

Coming Soon & Maintenance Mode by Colorlib 5K+ · 4.7★ (42) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #24 2 too low 23

Gravity Forms CLI Add-On 20K+ · 4.4★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #18 ↓1 5 too high 24

Coming Soon Maintenance Mode 6K+ · 4.7★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #21 ↓2 3 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.