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← Rankings

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

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

ITBoffins Live Opening Hours Banner & Table shows at wp.org #11 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 27820 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. 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★ (5040) wp.org #1 2 3CX Free Live Chat, Calls & Messaging 100K+ · 4.6★ (820) wp.org #2 3 Live Chat by Formilla – Real-time Chat & Chatbots Plugin 2K+ · 4.8★ (116) wp.org #3 4 Ajax Search Lite – Live Search & Filter 70K+ · 4.8★ (266) wp.org #7 ↑1 3 too low 5 Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) wp.org #12 ↓3 7 too low 6 Advanced Custom Stock Status 8K+ · 4.2★ (37) wp.org #6 7 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27820) wp.org #21 14 too low 8 Custom Order Status for WooCommerce 10K+ · 3.3★ (32) wp.org #5 3 too high 9 WPBot – AI ChatBot for Live Support, Lead Generation, WordPress Automation, AI Services 5K+ · 4.7★ (124) wp.org #14 5 too low 10 Shipping Live Rates for USPS for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.7★ (30) wp.org #9 ↑2 1 too high 11 StreamWeasels Online Status Bar 400+ · 4.2★ (11) wp.org #4 7 too high 12 Order Tracking – WordPress Status Tracking Plugin 3K+ · 4.6★ (73) wp.org #15 3 too low 13 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #19 ↓2 6 too low 14 Shipping Live Rates and Access Points for UPS for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.7★ (77) wp.org #20 ↓1 6 too low 15 FlexTable – Data Table Sync with Google Sheets 3K+ · 4.6★ (35) wp.org #17 ↑5 2 too low 16 Live Carts for WooCommerce: Track Active, Abandoned, and Converted Carts & Wishlists in Real Time! 900+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #8 ↓1 8 too high 17 Shipping Live Rates for FedEx for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.4★ (27) wp.org #24 ↓1 7 too low 18 Chatroll Live Chat 200+ · 4.0★ (5) wp.org #16 2 too high 19 Display Stock Status For WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 9 too high 20 Chaport — Live Chat & Chatbots 2K+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #13 7 too high 21 Broadcast Live Video – Live Streaming : WebRTC, HLS, RTSP, RTMP 300+ · 2.7★ (14) wp.org #23 ↓3 2 too low 22 ITBoffins Live Opening Hours Banner & Table 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 ↑1 11 too high 23 SDP Custom Order Status for WooCommerce 90+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 5 too high 24 Gaming-Plus Game Server Status 20+ · 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.