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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “paynow”

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 “paynow”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Rapyd Payment Extension for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #5 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 19 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 1.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Payment Plugins for Stripe WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.8★ (303) wp.org #1 2 Pay by paynow.pl 7K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #2 3 HitPay Payment Gateway for WooCommerce 4K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #3 4 Payment Plugins for Stripe Elementor – by Pay Addons 100+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #6 ↑1 2 too low 5 Netcash WooCommerce Payment Gateway 300+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #18 13 too low 6 Alma – Pay in installments or later for WooCommerce 1K+ · 3.7★ (6) wp.org #11 5 too low 7 Paydibs Gateway for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 3 too high 8 Easy Stripe Payments & Donations 10+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #22 14 too low 9 Omise Payments 2K+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #17 8 too low 10 Payssion Plugin for Woocommerce 400+ · 3.3★ (12) wp.org #19 9 too low 11 Halfborg QR Payments for PayNow for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 ↑1 4 too high 12 RedeuPay Checkout Extension with PayNow for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 ↑1 4 too high 13 QR Code Payment with USSD Mobile Banking Payment 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 3 too high 14 Moksa for WooCommerce 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 ↓3 5 too high 15 Allinpay INTL 80+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 3 too high 16 Simply.IN 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 3 too high 17 UQPAY Payment Gateway for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 3 too high 18 BlinkPay NZ for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 3 too high 19 Pay Now Button with GiyaPay — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 3 too high 20 Payment Gateway for Paynow on Easy Digital Downloads 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 1 too low 21 SteadyDevs Venue Booking — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 2 too low 22 Grid Button for LearnDash 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 2 too high 23 C CampTix Paynow Payment Gateway 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Rapyd Payment Extension for WooCommerce 500+ · 1.0★ (2) wp.org #5 19 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.