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

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

ODD — Apps for OpenStation shows at wp.org #2 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 20+ 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

Master Addons for Elementor – Elementor Addons, Widgets, Mega Menu Builder, Popup Builder, Widget Builder & Template Kits places #10 on merit, 4.5★ from 212 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 Make Tables Responsive 6K+ · 5.0★ (34) wp.org #1 2 Simply Show Hooks 1K+ · 5.0★ (63) wp.org #3 ↑2 1 too low 3 PDF Ink Lite – Free PDF Watermark & Password Protection 2K+ · 4.6★ (51) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 WPC Product Timer for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.8★ (24) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 Tableberg – Simple Gutenberg Table Block 4K+ · 4.8★ (46) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Widget CSS Classes 80K+ · 4.9★ (74) wp.org #11 5 too low 7 Sizor Product Size Chart For WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.3★ (32) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 PPOM – Product Addons & Custom Fields for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.5★ (283) wp.org #16 ↑3 8 too low 9 Transient Cleaner 1K+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #9 ↓1 10 Master Addons for Elementor – Elementor Addons, Widgets, Mega Menu Builder, Popup Builder, Widget Builder & Template Kits 30K+ · 4.5★ (212) wp.org #19 ↓2 9 too low 11 Smart Manager – Bulk Edit for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.4★ (288) wp.org #20 9 too low 12 GSheetConnector – WooCommerce Google Sheets Connector, Export Orders & Products to Google Sheets in Real-Time 3K+ · 5.0★ (16) wp.org #10 ↓1 2 too high 13 Smart Search & Product Filter for WooCommerce – Searchanise 900+ · 4.4★ (43) wp.org #15 2 too low 14 GSheetConnector – WPForms Google Sheets Connector, Save WPForms Lite & PRO Entries to Database & Sheets 7K+ · 4.6★ (18) wp.org #13 1 too high 15 ODD — Apps for OpenStation 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 13 too high 16 WUPO Group Attributes for WooCommerce 400+ · 3.6★ (14) wp.org #12 4 too high 17 Advanced Post Block – Display Your Posts Exactly How You Want 10K+ · 4.2★ (17) wp.org #21 4 too low 18 Controlled Draft Publisher 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 ↑2 10 too high 19 Turnkey bbPress by WeaverTheme 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #14 5 too high 20 GSheetConnector – Formidable Forms Google Sheets Connector, Export Entries to Spreadsheet 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #22 2 too low 21 AnWP Sports Leagues – Basketball, Ice Hockey, Handball, Rugby & More 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 GSheetConnector – Forminator Google Sheets Connector, Export Forminator Submissions 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 ↓1 5 too high 23 Size Chart Product For Woocommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 5 too high 24 Fastly 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 1 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.