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← Rankings

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

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 “opportunities”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 3 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

WCBoost – Products Compare shows at wp.org #8 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 30K+ 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

Popup Builder – Create highly converting, mobile friendly marketing popups. places #10 on merit, 4.7★ from 2215 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery 300K+ · 4.3★ (4342) wp.org #1 2 Quiz Maker by AYS 20K+ · 4.9★ (601) wp.org #2 ↑3 3 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 Paid Membership Subscriptions – Effortless Memberships, Recurring Payments & Content Restriction 10K+ · 4.7★ (270) wp.org #5 ↓2 1 too low 5 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Link Whisper Free 30K+ · 4.2★ (150) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 Redirection for Contact Form 7 200K+ · 4.7★ (275) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #12 ↑3 4 too low 9 WP Chat App 100K+ · 4.9★ (222) wp.org #16 ↑1 7 too low 10 Popup Builder – Create highly converting, mobile friendly marketing popups. 200K+ · 4.7★ (2215) wp.org #18 ↑3 8 too low 11 Wired Impact Volunteer Management 1K+ · 4.8★ (24) wp.org #10 1 too high 12 Variation Images Gallery for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (39) wp.org #17 ↑1 5 too low 13 OttoKit: All-in-One Automation Platform 90K+ · 4.9★ (124) wp.org #15 ↑1 2 too low 14 Search Insights – Privacy-Friendly Search Analytics 3K+ · 4.9★ (29) wp.org #13 ↓1 1 too high 15 Block Editor Colors 3K+ · 4.8★ (13) wp.org #14 1 too high 16 My Tickets – Accessible Event Ticketing 600+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #19 ↑1 3 too low 17 Matomo Analytics – Powerful, Privacy-First Insights for WordPress 100K+ · 4.6★ (178) wp.org #21 4 too low 18 Related Products Slider for WooCommerce – Boost Sales with Smart Product Recommendations 1K+ · 4.7★ (12) wp.org #22 ↑1 4 too low 19 GDPR Tools: comment ip removement 2K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #9 10 too high 20 Keyword Research Tool 700+ · 4.9★ (7) wp.org #20 ↑2 21 Raptive Ads 6K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #11 10 too high 22 Legal Text Connector of the IT-Recht Kanzlei 10K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #23 ↑1 1 too low 23 WCBoost – Products Compare 30K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 15 too high 24 Sopro 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24

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.