wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “payment link”
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 link”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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
Payment Gateway for Authorize.net for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #8 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 800+ 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
Paid Membership Subscriptions – Effortless Memberships, Recurring Payments & Content Restriction places #8 on merit, 4.7★ from 270 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.
Payment Plugins for Stripe WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.8★ (303)
wp.org #1 2 
PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322)
wp.org #2 3 
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #6 ↓1 3 too low 4 
Payment Plugins for PayPal WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (127)
wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5 
WooCommerce PayPal Payments 800K+ · 2.9★ (584) low rating, top placement
wp.org #3 ↑4 2 too high 6 
Easy Digital Downloads – eCommerce Payments and Subscriptions made easy 40K+ · 4.7★ (592)
wp.org #11 5 too low 7 
WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway 700K+ · 3.1★ (237) low rating, top placement
wp.org #4 3 too high 8 Paid Membership Subscriptions – Effortless Memberships, Recurring Payments & Content Restriction 10K+ · 4.7★ (270)
wp.org #14 ↑2 6 too low 9 
Payment Gateway for PayPal on WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.4★ (73)
wp.org #10 1 too low 10 
WooPayments: Integrated WooCommerce Payments 800K+ · 3.4★ (177)
wp.org #7 ↑2 3 too high 11 
Broken Link Checker by AIOSEO – Find & Fix Broken Internal, External & Video Links 200K+ · 3.8★ (87)
wp.org #9 ↓1 2 too high 12 
FunnelKit Payment Gateway for Stripe WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.9★ (53)
wp.org #13 ↑2 1 too low 13 
Payment Plugins Braintree For WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.8★ (149)
wp.org #15 ↓3 2 too low 14 
UPI QR Code Payment Gateway for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.8★ (256)
wp.org #19 ↓2 5 too low 15 
Simple Link Directory – AI Powered 2K+ · 4.8★ (121)
wp.org #18 ↑2 3 too low 16 
Pay for Payment for WooCommerce – Payment Gateway Fees & Discounts 10K+ · 4.7★ (71)
wp.org #20 ↑3 4 too low 17 
Campos Checkout Brasileiro para WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.9★ (45)
wp.org #17 ↑2 18 
Razorpay Payment Links for WooCommerce 900+ · 4.8★ (18) thin reviews
wp.org #12 ↑1 6 too high 19 
Bangladeshi Payment Gateways – Make Payment Using QR Code 4K+ · 5.0★ (92)
wp.org #24 5 too low 20 
Payment Gateway of Stripe for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.4★ (66)
wp.org #23 ↑1 3 too low 21 Payment Gateway for Authorize.net for WooCommerce 800+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #8 ↑6 13 too high 22 
Custom Payment Gateways for WooCommerce 8K+ · 3.8★ (21) thin reviews
wp.org #21 1 too high 23 
Better Payment – Instant Payments, Donations, Fundraising with Subscriptions & More 5K+ · 4.6★ (14) thin reviews
wp.org #22 1 too high 24 
Link Invoice Payment for WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↑2 8 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.