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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “modern events calendar”

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 “modern events calendar”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 10 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

Sugar Calendar – Events Calendar, Event Tickets, and Events Management Platform shows at wp.org #8 but places #13 on merit, a gap of 5 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.5★ average from 24 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Booking Calendar places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 657 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 wp.org
1 EventPrime – Events Calendar, Bookings, Tickets & AI 7K+ · 4.4★ (85) wp.org #1 2 Booking for Appointments and Events Calendar – Amelia 90K+ · 4.6★ (793) wp.org #3 ↑2 1 too low 3 Events Widgets For Elementor And The Events Calendar 10K+ · 4.5★ (108) wp.org #2 ↑1 1 too high 4 The Events Calendar Shortcode & Block 10K+ · 4.7★ (101) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Events Shortcodes For The Events Calendar 10K+ · 4.9★ (214) wp.org #5 ↓3 6 Event Booking Manager for WooCommerce – Sell Tickets, Event Registration, RSVP & Event Calendar 7K+ · 4.5★ (167) wp.org #4 2 too high 7 Simple Calendar – Google Calendar Plugin 50K+ · 3.8★ (397) wp.org #7 8 Registrations for the Events Calendar – Event Registration Plugin 7K+ · 5.0★ (103) wp.org #9 1 too low 9 Booking Calendar 40K+ · 4.8★ (657) wp.org #22 ↓1 13 too low 10 Eventin – Events Calendar, Tickets, Registration, Booking & WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (413) wp.org #14 4 too low 11 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #21 ↑1 10 too low 12 ICS Calendar 10K+ · 4.9★ (72) wp.org #18 6 too low 13 Sugar Calendar – Events Calendar, Event Tickets, and Events Management Platform 10K+ · 4.5★ (24) wp.org #8 5 too high 14 Event Genius – Event Calendar, Event Registration, and Attendee Management 600+ · 4.8★ (17) wp.org #10 4 too high 15 Event Single Page Builder For The Events Calendar 6K+ · 4.8★ (81) wp.org #13 2 too high 16 Event Countdown for The Events Calendar 3K+ · 4.6★ (48) wp.org #11 5 too high 17 EventON – Events Calendar 6K+ · 4.1★ (44) wp.org #12 5 too high 18 Events Search & Filter Bar for The Events Calendar 3K+ · 4.8★ (29) wp.org #16 2 too high 19 Event Calendar Newsletter 600+ · 4.8★ (16) wp.org #19 20 Tockify Events Calendar 2K+ · 4.5★ (20) wp.org #15 5 too high 21 Events Calendar Modules for Divi 2K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #17 4 too high 22 Hydrogen Calendar Embeds 1K+ · 4.5★ (6) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 Events Block For The Events Calendar 2K+ · 3.6★ (7) wp.org #20 3 too high 24 Easy Events Calendar : All-in-One Events Calendar with Social Event, Eventbrite, Meetup, Google & iCal Import Support 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #24

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.