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

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 “paylater”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 19. 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

Duitku Payment Gateway shows at wp.org #8 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 700+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Payment Plugins Braintree For WooCommerce places #3 on merit, 4.8★ from 149 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Payment Plugins for PayPal WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (126) wp.org #1 2 Payment Gateway of PayPal for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.2★ (79) wp.org #2 3 Payment Plugins Braintree For WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.8★ (149) wp.org #14 11 too low 4 imoje 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Razorpay for WooCommerce 100K+ · 2.5★ (23) wp.org #5 6 BharatX Pay In 3 10+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #11 5 too low 7 Xendit Payment 3K+ · 4.7★ (9) wp.org #17 10 too low 8 Cashfree for WooCommerce 8K+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #12 4 too low 9 Sezzle Woocommerce Payment 1K+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 Bayarcash WooCommerce 700+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 6 too high 11 MakeCommerce for WooCommerce 3K+ · 3.6★ (8) wp.org #15 4 too low 12 Unzer Payments 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 3 too high 13 PayPlug for WooCommerce (Official) 4K+ · 3.3★ (7) wp.org #18 5 too low 14 Paydibs Gateway for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 7 too high 15 Complete PayPal Payments For WooCommerce 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 5 too high 16 tatrapay+ Payment Gateway 200+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 17 Duitku Payment Gateway 700+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #8 9 too high 18 HitPay Payment Gateway for WooCommerce 4K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 5 too high 19 Bayarcash For Easy Digital Downloads — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19

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.