Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “payment method”

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 method”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 9 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

Pay. Payment Methods for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #12 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.7★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Pay for Payment for WooCommerce – Payment Gateway Fees & Discounts places #12 on merit, 4.7★ from 71 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. 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 Stripe WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.8★ (303) wp.org #1 2 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #4 ↓1 2 too low 3 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #9 ↓3 6 too low 4 WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway 700K+ · 3.1★ (237) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 Easy Digital Downloads – eCommerce Payments and Subscriptions made easy 40K+ · 4.7★ (591) wp.org #10 ↑2 5 too low 6 Payment Plugins for PayPal WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (127) wp.org #6 ↑12 7 WooCommerce PayPal Payments 800K+ · 2.9★ (583) wp.org #3 ↑2 4 too high 8 PiWeb Disable payment method / Partial payment for WooCommerce 4K+ · 5.0★ (38) wp.org #5 ↓1 3 too high 9 Payment Gateway for PayPal on WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.4★ (73) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 FunnelKit Payment Gateway for Stripe WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.9★ (53) wp.org #16 6 too low 11 Mercado Pago payments for WooCommerce 100K+ · 3.9★ (693) wp.org #15 ↓1 4 too low 12 Pay for Payment for WooCommerce – Payment Gateway Fees & Discounts 10K+ · 4.7★ (71) wp.org #24 12 too low 13 D Disable Payment Methods based on cart conditions for WooCommerce 900+ · 4.7★ (14) wp.org #13 ↓3 14 ELEX WooCommerce Discount Per Payment Method 1K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #8 6 too high 15 Payment Gateway of Stripe for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.4★ (66) wp.org #22 7 too low 16 Payment Methods by Product & Country for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.2★ (18) wp.org #11 ↓2 5 too high 17 WooPayments: Integrated WooCommerce Payments 800K+ · 3.4★ (177) wp.org #17 ↑4 18 Mollie Payments for WooCommerce 100K+ · 3.6★ (69) wp.org #21 ↓6 3 too low 19 Hide Shipping Method For WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.0★ (25) wp.org #19 20 Conditional Payment Methods for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #18 ↓1 2 too high 21 Payment Gateway for Authorize.net for WooCommerce 800+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 Pay. Payment Methods for WooCommerce 3K+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #12 ↓1 10 too high 23 Dintero Checkout for WooCommerce Payment Methods 600+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 24 E ESTO payment methods 600+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 ↓1 10 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.