wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “payment pro”
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 pro”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20. 7 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 PayPal Pro, PayPal Checkout & Subscriptions for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #14 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.1★ average from 9 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 3220 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143)
wp.org #1 2 
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #2 3 
Easy Digital Downloads – eCommerce Payments and Subscriptions made easy 40K+ · 4.7★ (591)
wp.org #4 1 too low 4 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #3 1 too high 5 
Quiz Maker by AYS 20K+ · 4.9★ (601)
wp.org #7 2 too low 6 
Paid Membership Subscriptions – Effortless Memberships, Recurring Payments & Content Restriction 10K+ · 4.7★ (270)
wp.org #8 2 too low 7 
Packlink PRO for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.4★ (263) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #5 2 too high 8 
Checkout Field Editor (Checkout Manager) for WooCommerce 400K+ · 4.9★ (1056)
wp.org #11 3 too low 9 
Payment Plugins Braintree For WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.8★ (149)
wp.org #9 10 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220)
wp.org #20 10 too low 11 
Pay for Payment for WooCommerce – Payment Gateway Fees & Discounts 10K+ · 4.7★ (71)
wp.org #10 1 too high 12 
Payment Gateway for PayPal on WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.4★ (73) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #6 6 too high 13 
Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807)
wp.org #16 3 too low 14 
FunnelKit Payment Gateway for Stripe WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.9★ (53)
wp.org #13 1 too high 15 
Mercado Pago payments for WooCommerce 100K+ · 3.9★ (693) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #12 3 too high 16 
Advanced Classifieds & Directory Pro 2K+ · 4.7★ (96) heavy footprint
wp.org #15 1 too high 17 
Back In Stock Notifier for WooCommerce | WooCommerce Waitlist Pro 20K+ · 4.7★ (122) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #18 1 too low 18 
Paymattic – Secure, Simple Payment & Donation with Subscription Payments, Recurring Donations, Customer Management 3K+ · 4.8★ (44)
wp.org #22 4 too low 19 
PiWeb Disable payment method / Partial payment for WooCommerce 4K+ · 5.0★ (38) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #23 4 too low 20 
Payment Gateway of PayPal for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.2★ (79) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #24 4 too low 21 
Custom Payment Gateways for WooCommerce 8K+ · 3.8★ (21) thin reviews
wp.org #19 2 too high 22 Payment Gateway for PayPal Pro, PayPal Checkout & Subscriptions for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.1★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #14 8 too high 23 
Better Payment – Instant Payments, Donations, Fundraising with Subscriptions & More 5K+ · 4.6★ (14) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #17 6 too high 24 
Custom Payment Gateway for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.3★ (16) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #21 3 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.