wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “notification subscription”
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 “notification subscription”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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
Push Notifications for WP – Self Hosted Web Push Notifications shows at wp.org #3 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 6K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.2★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin places #12 on merit, 4.4★ from 1445 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.
WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833)
wp.org #1 2 
Easy Digital Downloads – eCommerce Payments and Subscriptions made easy 40K+ · 4.7★ (592)
wp.org #5 ↓1 3 too low 3 
MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435)
wp.org #7 ↑4 4 too low 4 
Subscriptions for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.5★ (180)
wp.org #6 2 too low 5 
Subscriptions for WooCommerce with Stripe Recurring Payments 1K+ · 4.9★ (25)
wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too high 6 
Customize WordPress Emails and Alerts – Better Notifications for WP 30K+ · 4.8★ (184)
wp.org #9 ↓1 3 too low 7 
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #14 7 too low 8 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #13 ↑2 5 too low 9 
Notification Master – Real-Time WordPress Notifications With Email, SMS, Webhooks & More 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #2 ↑3 7 too high 10 
Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (808)
wp.org #16 6 too low 11 
Notivo Notification for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.3★ (80)
wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too high 12 Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #22 ↓2 10 too low 13 
Noptin – Newsletter, New Post Notifications & Email Automation 10K+ · 4.5★ (120)
wp.org #15 ↓3 2 too low 14 Push Notifications for WP – Self Hosted Web Push Notifications 6K+ · 4.2★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #3 ↓1 11 too high 15 
SureCart – Ecommerce Made Easy For Selling Physical Products, Digital Downloads, Subscriptions, Donations, & Payments 80K+ · 4.8★ (289)
wp.org #23 8 too low 16 
Comment Reply Email Notification 3K+ · 4.8★ (33)
wp.org #12 ↑1 4 too high 17 
Notibar – Notification Bar for WordPress 8K+ · 4.8★ (71)
wp.org #21 4 too low 18 
Flexible Subscriptions 1K+ · 4.6★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #8 ↓1 10 too high 19 
WooCommerce PayPal Payments 800K+ · 2.9★ (583)
wp.org #18 ↓1 1 too high 20 
Brevo for WooCommerce 30K+ · 3.4★ (55)
wp.org #19 ↑3 1 too high 21 
WP Notification Bell 700+ · 4.9★ (12) thin reviews
wp.org #17 ↑1 4 too high 22 
Newsletter Subscription Form – User Subscriptions Form, Capture Email 1K+ · 4.3★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #11 ↓1 11 too high 23 
Accept PayPal & Stripe with Subscriptions for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.8★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #24 1 too low 24 
Publish Post Email Notification 500+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #20 ↓1 4 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.