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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “multi level”

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 “multi level”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 5 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

Menubar shows at wp.org #11 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.7★ average from 15 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #1 2 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 CP Multi View Events Calendar 900+ · 4.3★ (46) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Popup builder with Gamification, Multi-Step Popups, Page-Level Targeting, and WooCommerce Triggers 70K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #2 3 too high 6 Robo Gallery – Photo & Image Slider 40K+ · 4.3★ (406) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 FooGallery Photo Gallery : Image, Video & Masonry Galleries 100K+ · 4.8★ (995) wp.org #10 3 too low 8 Goaffpro Affiliate Marketing 4K+ · 4.8★ (44) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 Comments – wpDiscuz 60K+ · 4.7★ (581) wp.org #9 10 Quttera ThreatSign – Web Malware Scanner for WordPress 10K+ · 3.9★ (47) wp.org #6 4 too high 11 Click to Chat – HoliThemes 600K+ · 4.8★ (131) wp.org #12 1 too low 12 Affiliate Program Suite — SliceWP Affiliates 10K+ · 4.9★ (111) wp.org #15 ↑6 3 too low 13 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #18 ↓2 5 too low 14 Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) wp.org #14 ↓1 15 Bit Form – Contact Form, Payment Forms, Multi Step Forms, Calculator & Custom Form Builder 10K+ · 5.0★ (259) wp.org #21 ↑1 6 too low 16 WP Data Access – App Builder for Tables, Forms, Dashboards, Charts & Maps 10K+ · 4.9★ (88) wp.org #17 ↑3 1 too low 17 MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435) wp.org #24 ↓7 7 too low 18 Dokan: AI Powered WooCommerce Multivendor Marketplace Solution – Build Your Own Amazon, eBay, Etsy 30K+ · 4.6★ (769) wp.org #20 2 too low 19 Menubar 1K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #11 8 too high 20 CF7 Mate – Contact Form 7 Styler, Multi-Step Forms & Conditional Logic 20K+ · 3.9★ (46) wp.org #13 7 too high 21 WP Multi Network 100+ · 4.3★ (24) wp.org #16 ↓1 5 too high 22 affiliate-toolkit – Multi-Network Affiliate & Amazon Product Display 2K+ · 4.5★ (22) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 Multi Location Product & Inventory Management for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #22 ↑1 1 too high 24 Premmerce Multi-currency for Woocommerce 200+ · 3.0★ (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.