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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “link gate”

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 “link gate”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 16 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

TSO Link Inspector shows at wp.org #7 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 10+ 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

The Plus Addons for Elementor – Mega Menu, Header Footer, Post Grid, AI Widgets & Templates places #7 on merit, 4.6★ from 388 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 BetterLinks – Link Shortener, Link Cloaking, Redirects, Affiliate Link Manager & MCP 20K+ · 4.8★ (85) wp.org #1 2 Download Monitor 80K+ · 4.5★ (525) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Click to Chat – HoliThemes 600K+ · 4.8★ (131) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 Master Addons for Elementor – Elementor Addons, Widgets, Mega Menu Builder, Popup Builder, Widget Builder & Template Kits 30K+ · 4.5★ (212) wp.org #8 4 too low 5 WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (195) wp.org #13 8 too low 6 Gallery by Visual Portfolio 60K+ · 4.8★ (340) wp.org #18 12 too low 7 The Plus Addons for Elementor – Mega Menu, Header Footer, Post Grid, AI Widgets & Templates 100K+ · 4.6★ (388) wp.org #20 13 too low 8 FOX – Currency Switcher Professional for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.4★ (250) wp.org #11 3 too low 9 Core Framework 10K+ · 5.0★ (41) wp.org #10 1 too low 10 Books Gallery – Book Showcase, Library & Affiliate Plugin 2K+ · 4.8★ (92) wp.org #21 11 too low 11 EU Withdrawal and Legal Guarantee Compliance 1K+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #17 6 too low 12 ActiveLayer Anti-Spam: Spam Protection for Forms & Comments 10K+ · 4.9★ (10) wp.org #14 2 too low 13 Document Embedder – let visitors read files without downloading 9K+ · 4.9★ (120) wp.org #24 11 too low 14 AB Age Gate 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 12 too high 15 Bread & Butter – Identify Website Visitors, Score Leads & Gate Content 60+ · 4.7★ (7) wp.org #12 3 too high 16 Forward: Embed Image Links 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #9 7 too high 17 DevDome Link Monitor: Broken Link Checker, Dead Link Checker, Broken Link Finder 300+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #4 13 too high 18 Royal Links – Affiliate Link Cloaking, Shortener & Tracker 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #5 13 too high 19 Advanced Age Verification Popup 700+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #15 4 too high 20 Landing Page Cat – Coming Soon & Maintenance Pages 600+ · 4.2★ (6) wp.org #22 2 too low 21 TSO Link Inspector 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 14 too high 22 GRO 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 6 too high 23 GemFind Diamond Link 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 24 Grumpy AI Gate — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 5 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.