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

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 “meter”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20.

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Memory Meter shows at wp.org #4 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 600+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.3★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Titan Anti-spam & Security – Brute Force Protection, 2FA & Spam Filter places #11 on merit, 4.5★ from 370 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Read Meter – Reading Time & Progress Bar 10K+ · 4.5★ (19) thin reviews wp.org #1 2

Search Meter 20K+ · 4.3★ (29) wp.org #2 3

Ultimeter – the Ultimate Progress and Goals Meter 1K+ · 5.0★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #3 4

User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738) wp.org #8 ↑1 4 too low 5

Clean Login 5K+ · 4.7★ (144) wp.org #6 ↑1 7

Featherweight 10K+ · 4.1★ (45) wp.org #5 2 too high 8

Theme My Login 50K+ · 3.7★ (460) wp.org #9 1 too low 9

Leaflet Map 30K+ · 4.9★ (58) wp.org #10 ↑1 1 too low 10

Advanced Product Fields (Product Addons) for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.8★ (284) wp.org #15 ↓2 5 too low 11

Titan Anti-spam & Security – Brute Force Protection, 2FA & Spam Filter 50K+ · 4.5★ (370) wp.org #22 ↓2 11 too low 12

Disable Bloat for WordPress & WooCommerce – Speed Up & Clean Up Admin 10K+ · 4.8★ (100) wp.org #20 ↓1 8 too low 13

Min Max Step Quantity Limits Manager for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.9★ (51) wp.org #17 ↑5 4 too low 14

Worth The Read 3K+ · 4.3★ (27) wp.org #12 2 too high 15

WP GPX Maps 4K+ · 4.1★ (59) wp.org #19 4 too low 16

Addonify Floating Cart For WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.7★ (15) thin reviews wp.org #16 ↓1 17

Caddy – WooCommerce Side Cart & Free Shipping Bar 3K+ · 3.9★ (20) thin reviews wp.org #14 ↑2 3 too high 18

Decimal Product Quantity for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.5★ (11) thin reviews wp.org #18 ↓1 19

Memory Meter 600+ · 3.3★ (4) thin reviewslow rating, top placement wp.org #4 15 too high 20

Embed Lottie Player – bring your pages to life with animation 4K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #24 ↓1 4 too low 21

EasyTest – Simplify A/B Testing 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #11 ↓1 10 too high 22

Teydea Login Security – Password Policy, Complexity Rules & Expiration 400+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #13 ↑1 9 too high 23

CFF Fitness and Health Operations 60+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #21 ↓3 2 too high 24

Remove Cookies From Static Resources 100+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #23 ↓2 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.