Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “macos”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 4 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

QR payment for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #7 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 400+ 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

Dark Mode – Improve Accessibility with AI Powered Dark Theme places #5 on merit, 4.5★ from 391 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 EWWW Image Optimizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1842) wp.org #1 2 AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 The Paste 9K+ · 4.8★ (35) wp.org #6 ↓2 3 too low 4 Pdf Embed 10K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too high 5 Dark Mode – Improve Accessibility with AI Powered Dark Theme 20K+ · 4.5★ (391) wp.org #14 ↑1 9 too low 6 LiveChat – Live Chat Plugin for WP Websites 10K+ · 4.6★ (98) wp.org #12 6 too low 7 Easy Appointment Booking & Scheduling Plugin – Webba Booking Calendar 2K+ · 4.9★ (159) wp.org #15 ↑1 8 too low 8 Enable Mastodon Apps 500+ · 4.0★ (6) wp.org #4 ↑1 4 too high 9 Darkify – Dark Mode & Night Mode for Website & Admin (Dark Theme Included) 1K+ · 4.7★ (27) wp.org #16 ↑2 7 too low 10 Hyper PWA – Bringing Modern Progressive Web App Experiences 400+ · 4.7★ (12) wp.org #11 ↑3 1 too low 11 Push Notifications for WP – Self Hosted Web Push Notifications 6K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #5 ↑1 6 too high 12 Quick Download Button 1K+ · 4.6★ (12) wp.org #22 10 too low 13 3D viewer by Visody 900+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #9 4 too high 14 PushAlert – Web Push Notifications for WordPress and WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.6★ (8) wp.org #13 1 too high 15 Socicon 200+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #10 5 too high 16 BotBlocker Security – Complete security platform 3K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #20 ↓3 4 too low 17 FoodOrd – Online Food Ordering & Table Reservation System 20+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 Image Protection 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 10 too high 19 eDarpan: Website Protection 200+ · 3.8★ (5) wp.org #19 ↑1 20 WhoKnew Signal – Self-Hosted Web Push Notifications & PWA 30+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 ↑1 2 too high 21 QR payment for WooCommerce 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 14 too high 22 MagniPOS 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 1 too high 23 Incognito Window Detect 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 6 too high 24 Invizo MCP – Secure AI Connector for Claude, Codex, Cursor and WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (1) 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.