Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “mining”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

PubPla AI Help Center shows at wp.org #18 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its — 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

GoUrl Bitcoin Payment Gateway & Paid Downloads & Membership places #3 on merit, 4.0★ from 76 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 AI Content Signals 800+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #1 2 Crypto Converter ⚡ Widget 1K+ · 4.6★ (24) wp.org #15 ↑2 13 too low 3 GoUrl Bitcoin Payment Gateway & Paid Downloads & Membership 600+ · 4.0★ (76) wp.org #19 ↑2 16 too low 4 ContextLift 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 MarketBasketAnalysis for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 Cardea – Proof-of-Work Comment Spam Protection — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #4 2 too high 7 Shortcode Arcade Crypto Idle Game — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 Redactis — AI Content Generator & SEO Writer — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #6 2 too high 9 ELOQIO AI Content Reservation — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 Crypto Price Widgets – Live Cryptocurrency Prices by CoinLore — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 2 too high 11 Bitcoin, Ethereum and ERC20 crypto wallets with exchange 80+ · 3.6★ (7) wp.org #17 ↑2 6 too low 12 W WPFrank Companion 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 ↑1 2 too low 13 CryptocurrencyCheckout Woocommerce Gateway 100+ · 3.5★ (8) wp.org #23 10 too low 14 DaazMarkets — Global Market Prices 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 5 too high 15 TDMRep: TDM Reservation Protocol 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 5 too high 16 MRN Gold & Currency Pricing for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 5 too high 17 Cointacted – Social Terminal — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 ↑1 5 too high 18 Livada SEO Lite — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↑3 5 too high 19 Agentimus – AI SEO, llms.txt & MCP for AI Agents 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24 ↓2 5 too low 20 Bitcart for WooCommerce 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↑2 4 too high 21 Coin Miner – Coin Hive, and CoinImp monero miner 10+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #22 ↑2 1 too low 22 Free Order Export for WooCommerce – Orders to CSV — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↑3 2 too high 23 Flying Pigs Uploader — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 PubPla AI Help Center — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↑2 6 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.