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← Rankings

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

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 “odometer”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 18 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

Motors VIN Decoder shows at wp.org #5 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 400+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.0★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

PowerPack Addons for Elementor: Widgets, Form Styler and Templates places #3 on merit, 4.8★ from 361 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #10 9 too low 2 Inventory Presser – Car Dealer Listings 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 PowerPack Addons for Elementor: Widgets, Form Styler and Templates 70K+ · 4.8★ (361) wp.org #15 ↓3 12 too low 4 GutenKit – Page Builder Blocks, Patterns, and Templates for Gutenberg Block Editor 80K+ · 4.5★ (48) wp.org #14 10 too low 5 Elentix Addons for Elementor — Widgets, Extensions & Effects 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #2 ↑2 3 too high 6 WPC Variations Grid for WooCommerce 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #3 ↓1 3 too high 7 Jellyfish Counter Widget 1K+ · 4.4★ (10) wp.org #18 ↓2 11 too low 8 Awesome Car Rental & Booking 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #4 4 too high 9 Hash Elements 5K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #12 ↓1 3 too low 10 CarDealerPress 30+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #16 ↓2 6 too low 11 MoxKit Addons for Elementor 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 ↑1 4 too high 12 Storebird AI Chat for WooCommerce 30+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #17 ↓2 5 too low 13 H Hit Counter Max 300+ · 4.5★ (6) wp.org #20 ↓2 7 too low 14 Automotive Inventory Importer – Sync Car Dealer Feeds 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 ↓1 8 too high 15 ProofBlocks – Pricing Table, Call to Action & Counter Blocks — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 ↓2 7 too high 16 Lynbro Soge Lookup — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 ↓2 7 too high 17 Gobbert Countdown Timer, Urgency Bars & Pricing Tables — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 ↓2 6 too high 18 Echelon Widgets for SiteOrigin 800+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 ↓2 1 too low 19 Motors VIN Decoder 400+ · 2.0★ (5) wp.org #5 ↓2 14 too high 20 Generic Elements 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 7 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.