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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “live proof”

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 “live proof”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

Counter live visitors for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #7 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 4K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 4358 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #1 2 Inavii Social Feed – Live Social Proof Gallery 9K+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #2 3 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1668) wp.org #5 ↑4 2 too low 4 ProveSource Social Proof 2K+ · 4.8★ (72) wp.org #4 ↑1 5 NotificationX – FOMO, Live Sales Notification, WooCommerce Sales Popup, GDPR, Social Proof, Announcement Banner & Floating Notification Bar 30K+ · 4.8★ (228) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 Customer Reviews for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (1539) wp.org #9 ↑1 3 too low 7 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #10 ↑1 3 too low 8 Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #11 ↑1 3 too low 9 SALERT – Social Proof Notifications & Live Sales Popup 8K+ · 3.9★ (16) wp.org #3 ↑1 6 too high 10 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #13 ↑2 3 too low 11 Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4358) wp.org #23 12 too low 12 WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (195) wp.org #22 ↑1 10 too low 13 EmbedPress 100K+ · 4.8★ (307) wp.org #18 ↑3 5 too low 14 WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1915) wp.org #24 10 too low 15 FOMO & Social Proof Notifications by TrustPulse – Best WordPress FOMO Plugin 10K+ · 4.5★ (35) wp.org #19 4 too low 16 Safe SVG 1M+ · 4.9★ (79) wp.org #17 ↑1 1 too low 17 Nudgify Social Proof 500+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #8 9 too high 18 WiserNotify – Social Proof & FOMO Notifications, WooCommerce Sales Popups, Reviews & Announcement Bar 900+ · 5.0★ (29) wp.org #16 ↑1 2 too high 19 SureMail – SMTP and Email Logs Plugin with Amazon SES, Postmark, and Other Providers 200K+ · 4.7★ (25) wp.org #21 ↑3 2 too low 20 Social Proof Popups & Real-Time Notifications – Herd Effects 900+ · 3.9★ (15) wp.org #12 ↑1 8 too high 21 Counter live visitors for WooCommerce 4K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #7 14 too high 22 Surbma | GDPR Proof Cookie Consent & Notice Bar 500+ · 4.6★ (11) wp.org #15 ↑1 7 too high 23 WP Live Social-Proof 100+ · 4.5★ (6) wp.org #14 9 too high 24 WP Social Proof 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 ↑2 4 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.