wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “leaving notification”
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 “leaving notification”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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.
Ranked above its merit
Kaya Login Notification shows at wp.org #10 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 100+ 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
Side Cart Woocommerce | Woocommerce Cart places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 453 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833)
wp.org #1 2 
Notification – Custom Notifications and Alerts for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (124)
wp.org #2 3 
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5040)
wp.org #3 4 
MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435)
wp.org #5 ↑2 1 too low 5 
Noptin – Newsletter, New Post Notifications & Email Automation 10K+ · 4.5★ (120)
wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6 
Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (808)
wp.org #8 2 too low 7 
All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720)
wp.org #9 ↑1 2 too low 8 
HashBar – Announcement, Notification Bar & Popup Campaign 9K+ · 4.2★ (38)
wp.org #4 4 too high 9 
FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410)
wp.org #11 2 too low 10 Side Cart Woocommerce | Woocommerce Cart 70K+ · 4.9★ (453)
wp.org #15 ↓1 5 too low 11 
Advanced Shipment Tracking for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.5★ (355)
wp.org #14 ↑1 3 too low 12 
WooPayments: Integrated WooCommerce Payments 800K+ · 3.4★ (177)
wp.org #7 ↓1 5 too high 13 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #13 14 
MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157)
wp.org #18 4 too low 15 
BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55)
wp.org #12 3 too high 16 
HireZoot – Job Listings, Career Page & Recruitment Tool 30K+ · 4.8★ (194)
wp.org #19 3 too low 17 
Broken Link Checker 500K+ · 3.8★ (605)
wp.org #17 ↓1 18 
WC – APG SMS Notifications 300+ · 4.8★ (23) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↑1 2 too high 19 
WPC Smart Quick View for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.9★ (31)
wp.org #22 3 too low 20 
Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #20 ↑1 21 
Notiqoo – Order Notification & Customer Chat for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.8★ (19) thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↓1 22 Kaya Login Notification 100+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #10 ↓1 12 too high 23 
Notifications on Discord for WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #24 1 too low 24 L Login Alert Notification 20+ · 4.5★ (2) thin reviews
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.