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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “oauth server”

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 “oauth server”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Agent Abilities for MCP – MCP Server with Permission Controls and Audit Log shows at wp.org #12 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.5★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

AI Engine – The Chatbot, AI Framework & MCP for WordPress places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 869 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP OAuth Server ( Login with WordPress ) 1K+ · 4.9★ (41) wp.org #1 2 WPVibe – WordPress MCP Server. Connect Claude, ChatGPT & Any AI Agent via MCP 50K+ · 5.0★ (96) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7508) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 OAuth Single Sign On – SSO (OAuth Client) 7K+ · 4.9★ (324) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 WP OAuth Server (OAuth Authentication) 3K+ · 3.8★ (41) wp.org #2 3 too high 6 FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (407) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 BetterDocs – AI Documentation, Knowledge Base, MCP Server, Docs, Wikis, FAQ & Chatbot 30K+ · 4.8★ (514) wp.org #9 2 too low 8 Easy MCP AI – Connect Claude to WordPress: MCP Server for ChatGPT & AI Agents 10K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #4 ↑1 4 too high 9 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1679) wp.org #14 5 too low 10 Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (526) wp.org #15 5 too low 11 AI Engine – The Chatbot, AI Framework & MCP for WordPress 90K+ · 4.9★ (869) wp.org #21 ↑2 10 too low 12 WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – The Most Popular SMTP and Email Log Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (5202) wp.org #22 ↓1 10 too low 13 Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #19 6 too low 14 Gmail SMTP 10K+ · 4.1★ (103) wp.org #20 6 too low 15 Secure MCP Server for Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini and other AI providers 5K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #8 7 too high 16 Meow Mailer – Free SMTP, Everything Included 800+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #16 17 GSheetConnector – CF7 Google Sheets Connector & Save CF7 Entries to Database 40K+ · 4.4★ (129) wp.org #18 1 too low 18 Royal MCP – Secure AI Connector for Claude, ChatGPT & any LLM via MCP 10K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #11 7 too high 19 Enable Abilities for MCP 4K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #17 2 too high 20 Cowboy MCP – Free MCP Server with Undo for Claude & ChatGPT 600+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #10 10 too high 21 ThinkRank AI SEO – AI SEO Plugin for WordPress: Schema, XML Sitemaps, Meta Tags, Search Console & Local SEO 10K+ · 4.9★ (33) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 Google for WooCommerce 800K+ · 2.7★ (267) wp.org #23 ↓1 1 too low 23 Agent Abilities for MCP – MCP Server with Permission Controls and Audit Log 500+ · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #12 11 too high 24 O OpenID Connect Server 200+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 11 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.