wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “payment solution”
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 solution”, we and wp.org disagree 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
PhonePe Payment Solutions shows at wp.org #4 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.6★ average from 11 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
MultiVendorX – WooCommerce Multivendor Marketplace AI Powered Solutions places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 432 reviews, but shows at wp.org #12. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833)
wp.org #2 1 too low 2 
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #3 1 too low 3 
WooCommerce PayPal Payments 800K+ · 2.9★ (584) low rating, top placement
wp.org #1 2 too high 4 
Tutor LMS – eLearning and online course solution 100K+ · 4.4★ (590)
wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 
Eventin – Events Calendar, Tickets, Registration, Booking & WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (413)
wp.org #6 ↑2 1 too low 6 
Easy Digital Downloads – eCommerce Payments and Subscriptions made easy 40K+ · 4.7★ (592)
wp.org #9 ↓3 3 too low 7 
Paid Membership Subscriptions – Effortless Memberships, Recurring Payments & Content Restriction 10K+ · 4.7★ (270)
wp.org #10 ↓1 3 too low 8 MultiVendorX – WooCommerce Multivendor Marketplace AI Powered Solutions 2K+ · 4.8★ (432)
wp.org #12 ↑2 4 too low 9 
Payment Gateway for PayPal on WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.4★ (73)
wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too high 10 
Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528)
wp.org #13 ↓3 3 too low 11 
UPI QR Code Payment Gateway for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.8★ (256)
wp.org #14 ↓2 3 too low 12 
FluentCRM – Email Newsletter, Automation, Email Marketing, Email Campaigns, Optins, Leads, and CRM Solution 80K+ · 4.8★ (250)
wp.org #15 ↑3 3 too low 13 
FunnelKit Payment Gateway for Stripe WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.9★ (53)
wp.org #11 2 too high 14 
Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962)
wp.org #20 ↓1 6 too low 15 
Dokan: AI Powered WooCommerce Multivendor Marketplace Solution – Build Your Own Amazon, eBay, Etsy 30K+ · 4.6★ (769)
wp.org #19 ↑3 4 too low 16 
Payment Plugins Braintree For WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.8★ (149)
wp.org #16 ↓3 17 
Mercado Pago payments for WooCommerce 100K+ · 3.9★ (693)
wp.org #23 6 too low 18 
PiWeb Disable payment method / Partial payment for WooCommerce 4K+ · 5.0★ (38)
wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too high 19 
Yoco Payments 10K+ · 4.4★ (43)
wp.org #18 ↓1 1 too high 20 
Event Tickets and Registration 90K+ · 3.5★ (236)
wp.org #22 ↓2 2 too low 21 PhonePe Payment Solutions 10K+ · 2.6★ (11) thin reviewslow rating, top placement
wp.org #4 ↑1 17 too high 22 
Payment Gateway for Authorize.net for WooCommerce 800+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #7 ↑8 15 too high 23 
Better Payment – Instant Payments, Donations, Fundraising with Subscriptions & More 5K+ · 4.6★ (14) thin reviews
wp.org #21 2 too high 24 
Tamara Checkout 3K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #24 ↓1 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.