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

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 type”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 2 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

CiviCRM Member Sync shows at wp.org #7 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 800+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Simple Custom Post Order places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 588 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 Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #1 2 Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #2 3 Paid Membership Subscriptions – Effortless Memberships, Recurring Payments & Content Restriction 10K+ · 4.7★ (270) wp.org #3 4 WP-Members Membership Plugin 50K+ · 4.6★ (272) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625) wp.org #9 4 too low 6 Business Directory Plugin – Easy Listing & Member Directories for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (504) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #13 ↓2 6 too low 8 MB Custom Post Types & Custom Taxonomies 10K+ · 4.7★ (13) wp.org #4 4 too high 9 Team Members – Multi Language Supported Team Plugin 6K+ · 5.0★ (85) wp.org #12 ↑1 3 too low 10 UsersWP – Front-end login form, User Registration, User Profile & Members Directory plugin for WP 20K+ · 4.7★ (183) wp.org #16 ↑1 6 too low 11 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588) wp.org #21 10 too low 12 Post Type Transfer 2K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #5 7 too high 13 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #20 ↑2 7 too low 14 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) wp.org #17 ↓2 3 too low 15 Team Members Showcase 4K+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #11 ↑1 4 too high 16 Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) wp.org #22 ↓3 6 too low 17 Team Members 20K+ · 4.2★ (53) wp.org #18 1 too low 18 Simple Membership 40K+ · 4.6★ (475) wp.org #23 5 too low 19 CiviCRM Member Sync 800+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #7 12 too high 20 Login Widget for Ultimate Member 600+ · 3.7★ (6) wp.org #14 6 too high 21 MemberKits – Ultimate Member for Elementor 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 11 too high 22 BuddyForms Ultimate Member 100+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #24 ↓1 2 too low 23 WP Team – WordPress Team Member Plugin 500+ · 4.3★ (3) wp.org #15 ↑1 8 too high 24 FAPI Member 500+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #19 ↑1 5 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.