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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “league table”

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 “league table”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

League Table – WordPress Table Plugin shows at wp.org #8 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Football Pool places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 83 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 SportsPress – Sports Club & League Manager 10K+ · 4.7★ (369) wp.org #1 2 Ninja Tables – Easy Data Table Builder 70K+ · 4.6★ (472) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 JoomSport – for Sports: Team & League, Football, Hockey & more 1K+ · 4.9★ (44) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Data Tables Generator by Supsystic – Excel-like, WooCommerce & Pricing Tables 10K+ · 4.7★ (497) wp.org #4 5 AnWP Football Leagues 700+ · 4.9★ (14) wp.org #5 6 Check & Log Email – Easy Email Testing & Mail logging 90K+ · 4.8★ (292) wp.org #14 8 too low 7 Football Pool 900+ · 4.9★ (83) wp.org #16 9 too low 8 WP Club Manager – WordPress Sports Club Plugin 600+ · 4.7★ (40) wp.org #9 1 too low 9 Dynamic Team Manager – Team Member Showcase with grid, slider, table Elementor widget & shortcode 900+ · 4.6★ (25) wp.org #10 1 too low 10 Advanced H2H for SportsPress 200+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #6 4 too high 11 AnWP Sports Leagues – Basketball, Ice Hockey, Handball, Rugby & More 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #7 4 too high 12 Achievements sports league 100+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #12 13 Sport Predictions for JoomSport 50+ · 4.6★ (11) wp.org #19 6 too low 14 Simple Tournament Brackets 300+ · 4.1★ (8) wp.org #20 ↑1 6 too low 15 ProScores – Live Scores 800+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #11 4 too high 16 League Table – WordPress Table Plugin 1K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 8 too high 17 Superb Table (SEO Optimized Tables With Schema) 2K+ · 3.6★ (5) wp.org #13 4 too high 18 Scoremer: Football Livescore, Tables and Fixtures 80+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 3 too high 19 Enhanced Import for SportsPress 90+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 1 too high 20 Hockey GMS Feed 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 3 too high 21 Football Studio – Soccer League, Tournament & Club Manager 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 2 too low 22 Soccr 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↓1 1 too high 23 W3P SEO – Lightweight SEO, Schema & AI Search Toolkit 90+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Auto Fixture Generator for SportsPress 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 2 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.