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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “mc4wp”

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 “mc4wp”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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

MC4WP: WPML Integration shows at wp.org #2 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 22 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

HTML Forms – Simple WordPress Forms Plugin places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 57 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 MC4WP: Mailchimp for WordPress 1M+ · 4.8★ (1497) wp.org #1 2 Anti-Spam by CleanTalk – Spam Protection Without CAPTCHA 200K+ · 4.8★ (3215) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 WP Armour – Honeypot Anti Spam 400K+ · 5.0★ (1452) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder 700K+ · 4.9★ (4508) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 MC4WP: Mailchimp Top Bar – Email Subscribe Notification Bar 6K+ · 4.6★ (31) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 Notification for Telegram 4K+ · 4.9★ (70) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 oopspam Anti-Spam: Spam Protection for WordPress Forms & Comments (No CAPTCHA) 6K+ · 4.9★ (49) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 MyRewards 2K+ · 4.7★ (58) wp.org #11 3 too low 9 SilentShield – Captcha & Anti-Spam for WordPress (CF7, WPForms, Elementor, WooCommerce) 10K+ · 4.7★ (22) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (166) wp.org #20 10 too low 11 HTML Forms – Simple WordPress Forms Plugin 10K+ · 4.9★ (57) wp.org #24 13 too low 12 ZeroBounce Email Verification & Validation 900+ · 4.8★ (4) wp.org #10 2 too high 13 WPBean Form Popup for WPForms and Contact Form 7 – Create Popup Forms Easily 600+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #12 1 too high 14 turboSMTP Email Validator 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 15 Nahnu Asset Scanner 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 16 FDN Newsletter Bridge — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 17 Hamid Pulse Notifications for Telegram and Bale — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 18 SMTPing Email Verifier — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 19 Opportify Fraud Protection — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 20 Pixlint – Multi-Pixel & Conversions API for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 1 too low 21 Bulk Email Checker – Email Verification & Validation — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 Send Denial 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 9 too high 23 WPEssential 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 24 MC4WP: WPML Integration 2K+ · 3.0★ (1) wp.org #2 22 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.