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

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 “licensing”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 3 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

Image Licensing Schema – Structured Data for Google Images shows at wp.org #3 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 20 places. Its 30+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.3★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Envira Gallery – Image Photo Gallery, Albums, Video Gallery, Slideshows & More places #7 on merit, 4.7★ from 1596 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 signals wp.org

StoreEngine — Complete eCommerce Solution with Memberships, Licensing, Affiliates & More 700+ · 5.0★ (17) not PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #1 2

Easy Digital Downloads – eCommerce Payments and Subscriptions made easy 40K+ · 4.7★ (591) wp.org #4 2 too low 3

Content Control – The Ultimate Content Restriction Solution! Restrict Content, Create Conditional Blocks & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (575) wp.org #5 2 too low 4

Serial Numbers – Ultimate License Manager for Selling, Licensing & Securely Delivering Digital Content with WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.7★ (78) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #2 2 too high 5

SiteOrigin CSS 100K+ · 4.9★ (153) wp.org #7 2 too low 6

AI Puffer – AI Chatbot & MCP Server for Claude and ChatGPT 10K+ · 4.6★ (166) wp.org #10 4 too low 7

Envira Gallery – Image Photo Gallery, Albums, Video Gallery, Slideshows & More 100K+ · 4.7★ (1596) wp.org #16 ↓8 9 too low 8

Download Manager 100K+ · 4.1★ (1006) wp.org #14 ↓2 6 too low 9

WP Webhooks – Automate repetitive tasks by creating powerful automation workflows directly within WordPress 20K+ · 4.7★ (55) wp.org #9 10

Core Framework 10K+ · 5.0★ (41) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #6 4 too high 11

WPIDE – File Manager & Code Editor 40K+ · 4.8★ (306) wp.org #17 6 too low 12

FluentCart A New Era of eCommerce – Faster, Lighter, and Simpler 9K+ · 4.5★ (46) wp.org #8 ↑6 4 too high 13

SureCart – Ecommerce Made Easy For Selling Physical Products, Digital Downloads, Subscriptions, Donations, & Payments 80K+ · 4.8★ (288) heavy footprint wp.org #22 ↓3 9 too low 14

Style Kits for Elementor 10K+ · 4.7★ (44) wp.org #20 6 too low 15

WP OAuth Server (OAuth Authentication) 3K+ · 3.8★ (41) not PHP-current wp.org #11 4 too high 16

StockPack – Stock photos and AI images from Unsplash, Adobe Stock, Freepik and more 7K+ · 4.4★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #13 ↑2 3 too high 17

Multi Page Auto Advance for Gravity Forms 2K+ · 4.3★ (20) thin reviews wp.org #12 ↑1 5 too high 18

My Private Site – Make Your Whole Site Private, Force Login & Block Registration Spam 10K+ · 4.5★ (82) not PHP-current wp.org #24 ↓3 6 too low 19

Webheadcoder Multi-Step Forms for Contact Form 7 50K+ · 4.2★ (49) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #19 ↓1 20

CopySafe PDF Protection – Copy Protect PDF 300+ · 3.9★ (14) thin reviews wp.org #18 ↓1 2 too high 21

Media Library File Download 1K+ · 4.3★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #15 ↑1 6 too high 22

WP Top News — Build a Complete News Portal in WordPress 800+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #21 1 too high 23

Image Licensing Schema – Structured Data for Google Images 30+ · 2.3★ (3) thin reviewslow rating, top placement wp.org #3 20 too high 24

Add LinkedIn Insight Tag for LinkedIn Ads 4K+ · 3.3★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #23 ↓3 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.