wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “local payment”
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 “local payment”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 10 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
Local Pickup for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #13 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 1K+ 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
Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 3221 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Payment Plugins for Stripe WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.8★ (303) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #1 2 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143)
wp.org #4 2 too low 3 
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #6 ↓1 3 too low 4 
Easy Digital Downloads – eCommerce Payments and Subscriptions made easy 40K+ · 4.7★ (591)
wp.org #9 5 too low 5 
WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway 700K+ · 3.1★ (237) throws errorsnot PHP-current low rating, top placement
wp.org #2 3 too high 6 
Payment Plugins Braintree For WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.8★ (149)
wp.org #7 1 too low 7 
Payment Plugins for PayPal WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (127) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #5 ↑1 2 too high 8 
Paid Membership Subscriptions – Effortless Memberships, Recurring Payments & Content Restriction 10K+ · 4.7★ (270)
wp.org #11 3 too low 9 
FunnelKit Payment Gateway for Stripe WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.9★ (53)
wp.org #8 1 too high 10 
WooCommerce PayPal Payments 800K+ · 2.9★ (583) throws errorsnot PHP-current low rating, top placement
wp.org #3 7 too high 11 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221)
wp.org #19 8 too low 12 
Payment Gateway of PayPal for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.2★ (79) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #10 2 too high 13 
Paymattic – Secure, Simple Payment & Donation with Subscription Payments, Recurring Donations, Customer Management 3K+ · 4.8★ (44)
wp.org #20 ↑2 7 too low 14 
Payment Gateway of Stripe for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.4★ (66) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #14 15 
Yoco Payments 10K+ · 4.4★ (43) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #12 3 too high 16 
Advanced Local Pickup for WooCommerce – Click & Collect, In-Store Pickup 3K+ · 4.7★ (55) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #18 ↓1 2 too low 17 
Custom Payment Gateways for WooCommerce 8K+ · 3.8★ (21) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too high 18 
Mollie Payments for WooCommerce 100K+ · 3.6★ (69) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #15 ↑3 3 too high 19 
Local Delivery Drivers for WooCommerce 800+ · 4.3★ (18) thin reviews
wp.org #22 ↓2 3 too low 20 
Better Payment – Instant Payments, Donations, Fundraising with Subscriptions & More 5K+ · 4.6★ (14) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #17 ↓1 3 too high 21 
Paystack WooCommerce Payment Gateway 20K+ · 4.5★ (25) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #24 3 too low 22 
Payment Methods by Product & Country for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.2★ (18) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #21 1 too high 23 Local Pickup for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #13 10 too high 24 
Instant Approval Payment Gateway with Instant Payouts 2K+ · 5.0★ (3) throws errorsnot PHP-current 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.