Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “order fetch”

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 “order fetch”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 7 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

Rent Fetch shows at wp.org #8 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 70+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 8706 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Custom Taxonomy Order 50K+ · 4.8★ (96) wp.org #1 2 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #6 4 too low 3 Custom Order Numbers for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.2★ (25) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221) wp.org #14 10 too low 5 Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4358) wp.org #17 ↓2 11 too low 7 Order Delivery Date for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.3★ (61) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 UpsellWP – Upsell and Related Products Offers for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.9★ (149) wp.org #9 1 too low 9 Custom Order Status for WooCommerce 10K+ · 3.3★ (32) wp.org #3 6 too high 10 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #23 13 too low 11 My Calendar – Accessible Event Manager 20K+ · 4.7★ (159) wp.org #19 8 too low 12 CartFlows – Funnel Builder & Checkout Plugin for WooCommerce 200K+ · 4.8★ (517) wp.org #16 ↑1 4 too low 13 Payment Plugins for Stripe WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.8★ (303) wp.org #15 ↑1 2 too low 14 Starter Sites & Templates by Neve 100K+ · 4.7★ (77) wp.org #18 4 too low 15 BD Courier Order Ratio Checker 2K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #4 11 too high 16 GSheetConnector – WooCommerce Google Sheets Connector, Export Orders & Products to Google Sheets in Real-Time 3K+ · 5.0★ (16) wp.org #12 ↓1 4 too high 17 Enable Abilities for MCP 5K+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #21 ↓1 4 too low 18 Contact Form to Chat Apps | Click to Chat to Order – FormyChat 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #11 ↓1 7 too high 19 Modern Cart – WooCommerce Side Cart & Popup Cart 60K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #22 3 too low 20 Extendify 500K+ · 4.7★ (10) wp.org #13 7 too high 21 Rent Fetch 70+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 13 too high 22 WooCommerce Tax (formerly WooCommerce Shipping & Tax) 500K+ · 2.1★ (106) wp.org #10 ↑2 12 too high 23 OBULKiT – Bulk Edit Orders for WooCommerce 200+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #20 ↑1 3 too high 24 Track Orders for WooCommerce – Multi Carrier WooCommerce Shipping 200+ · 3.7★ (3) 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.