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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “member note”

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 “member note”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Team Member Addon for Elementor shows at wp.org #8 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 300+ 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

Site Reviews places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 376 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #1 2 WP-Members Membership Plugin 50K+ · 4.6★ (272) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Print Invoice & Delivery Notes for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.4★ (140) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #9 ↑2 5 too low 5 User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738) wp.org #10 5 too low 6 Simple Membership 40K+ · 4.6★ (475) wp.org #6 ↑3 7 Peter's Post Notes – Admin Notes for Posts and Pages 3K+ · 4.9★ (26) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #12 ↑1 4 too low 9 Relevanssi – A Better Search 100K+ · 4.8★ (406) wp.org #14 ↑2 5 too low 10 Site Reviews 60K+ · 4.9★ (376) wp.org #18 ↓1 8 too low 11 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588) wp.org #19 ↑1 8 too low 12 User Notes 800+ · 4.8★ (15) wp.org #7 ↓1 5 too high 13 WP User Manager – Registration Form, Login Form, User Profile Builder & Member Directory 10K+ · 4.7★ (350) wp.org #13 ↓1 14 BuddyPress 90K+ · 4.1★ (375) wp.org #17 ↑1 3 too low 15 Team Members – A WordPress Team Plugin with Gallery, Grid, Carousel, Slider, Table, List, and More 2K+ · 4.7★ (91) wp.org #15 ↓1 16 CiviCRM Member Sync 800+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #4 12 too high 17 Force Login 30K+ · 4.8★ (101) wp.org #22 5 too low 18 Tutor LMS – eLearning and online course solution 100K+ · 4.4★ (590) wp.org #24 ↓2 6 too low 19 Integration for Mailchimp and Contact Form 7, WPForms, Elementor, Ninja Forms 8K+ · 5.0★ (30) wp.org #16 ↓1 3 too high 20 KeepInMind Dashboard Notes 300+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #11 ↓3 9 too high 21 Wbcom Designs – BuddyPress Member Reviews 200+ · 4.7★ (18) wp.org #23 ↓4 2 too low 22 Frontend User Notes 70+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #21 ↑2 1 too high 23 Team Member Addon for Elementor 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 ↓1 15 too high 24 Membee Login 400+ · 3.4★ (5) wp.org #20 ↑1 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.