wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “payment page”
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 page”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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
Payment Gateway for Authorize.net for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #10 but places #23 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
Website Builder by SeedProd — Theme Builder, Landing Page Builder, Coming Soon Page, Maintenance Mode places #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 4699 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. 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) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #1 2 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #2 3 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #4 1 too low 4 
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #7 ↓1 3 too low 5 
Payment Plugins for PayPal WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (127) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too low 6 
Easy Digital Downloads – eCommerce Payments and Subscriptions made easy 40K+ · 4.7★ (591)
wp.org #13 ↓1 7 too low 7 
WooCommerce PayPal Payments 800K+ · 2.9★ (583) throws errorsnot PHP-current low rating, top placement
wp.org #3 4 too high 8 Website Builder by SeedProd — Theme Builder, Landing Page Builder, Coming Soon Page, Maintenance Mode 600K+ · 4.9★ (4699)
wp.org #19 11 too low 9 
Payment Plugins Braintree For WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.8★ (149)
wp.org #12 ↓1 3 too low 10 
Paid Membership Subscriptions – Effortless Memberships, Recurring Payments & Content Restriction 10K+ · 4.7★ (270)
wp.org #15 ↓1 5 too low 11 
WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway 700K+ · 3.1★ (237) throws errorsnot PHP-current low rating, top placement
wp.org #5 6 too high 12 
WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #14 ↓1 2 too low 13 
FunnelKit Payment Gateway for Stripe WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.9★ (53)
wp.org #16 3 too low 14 
Payment Gateway for PayPal on WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.4★ (73) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #9 5 too high 15 
Payment Page – Stripe Payment Forms for Donations, Subscriptions & Recurring Payments 200+ · 5.0★ (22) thin reviews
wp.org #11 ↓1 4 too high 16 
WooPayments: Integrated WooCommerce Payments 800K+ · 3.4★ (177) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #8 8 too high 17 
Pay for Payment for WooCommerce – Payment Gateway Fees & Discounts 10K+ · 4.7★ (71)
wp.org #23 6 too low 18 
Greenshift – animation and page builder blocks 70K+ · 4.8★ (107) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #17 1 too high 19 
Payment Gateway of Stripe for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.4★ (66) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #21 2 too low 20 
Yoco Payments 10K+ · 4.4★ (43) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #18 ↑1 2 too high 21 
Custom Payment Gateways for WooCommerce 8K+ · 3.8★ (21) thin reviews
wp.org #24 3 too low 22 
Better Payment – Instant Payments, Donations, Fundraising with Subscriptions & More 5K+ · 4.6★ (14) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #20 2 too high 23 Payment Gateway for Authorize.net for WooCommerce 800+ · 5.0★ (3) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #10 ↑5 13 too high 24 
PayU GPO Payment for WooCommerce 10K+ · 3.7★ (6) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #22 2 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.