wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “payment buttons”
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 “payment buttons”, 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
PayPal Payment Buttons shows at wp.org #7 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Easy Digital Downloads – eCommerce Payments and Subscriptions made easy places #8 on merit, 4.7★ from 591 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.
Payment Plugins for Stripe WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.8★ (303)
wp.org #1 2 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #4 2 too low 3 
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #6 3 too low 4 
WooCommerce PayPal Payments 800K+ · 2.9★ (583) low rating, top placement
wp.org #2 2 too high 5 
Payment Plugins for PayPal WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (127)
wp.org #5 6 
WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway 700K+ · 3.1★ (237) low rating, top placement
wp.org #3 3 too high 7 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322)
wp.org #9 2 too low 8 Easy Digital Downloads – eCommerce Payments and Subscriptions made easy 40K+ · 4.7★ (591)
wp.org #15 7 too low 9 
Payment Button for PayPal 4K+ · 4.5★ (40)
wp.org #8 1 too high 10 
Paid Membership Subscriptions – Effortless Memberships, Recurring Payments & Content Restriction 10K+ · 4.7★ (270)
wp.org #17 ↑2 7 too low 11 
Simple Membership 40K+ · 4.6★ (475)
wp.org #18 ↑3 7 too low 12 
Payment Plugins Braintree For WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.8★ (149)
wp.org #14 2 too low 13 
Social Chat – Click To Chat App Button 200K+ · 4.9★ (696)
wp.org #22 ↓5 9 too low 14 
Payment Gateway for PayPal on WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.4★ (73)
wp.org #12 ↓1 2 too high 15 
UPI QR Code Payment Gateway for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.8★ (256)
wp.org #20 ↓4 5 too low 16 
FunnelKit Payment Gateway for Stripe WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.9★ (53)
wp.org #16 ↑2 17 
WooPayments: Integrated WooCommerce Payments 800K+ · 3.4★ (177)
wp.org #10 7 too high 18 
Accept Stripe Payments 20K+ · 4.1★ (114)
wp.org #19 ↑1 1 too low 19 
Easy Accept Payments via PayPal 6K+ · 4.5★ (34)
wp.org #23 ↓1 4 too low 20 PayPal Payment Buttons 500+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #7 13 too high 21 
Custom Payment Gateways for WooCommerce 8K+ · 3.8★ (21) thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↑2 22 
Better Payment – Instant Payments, Donations, Fundraising with Subscriptions & More 5K+ · 4.6★ (14) thin reviews
wp.org #24 2 too low 23 
Payment Gateway for Authorize.net for WooCommerce 800+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #13 10 too high 24 
Razorpay Payment Button Plugin 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #11 ↑1 13 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.