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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “pdf plugin”

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 “pdf plugin”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 3 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

Pdf Embed shows at wp.org #10 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 167 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 PDF Invoices & Packing Slips for WooCommerce 300K+ · 5.0★ (1865) wp.org #1 2 PDF Embedder – PDF Viewer & Embed PDF Files for WordPress 300K+ · 4.7★ (529) wp.org #2 3 DearFlip – PDF Flipbook, 3D Flipbook, PDF embed, PDF viewer 200K+ · 4.9★ (194) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 PDF & Print by BestWebSoft – WordPress Posts and Pages PDF Generator Plugin 9K+ · 3.9★ (102) wp.org #3 ↑2 1 too high 5 PDF Poster – Let visitors read PDF’s without leaving the page 20K+ · 4.5★ (149) wp.org #5 ↓1 6 Business Directory Plugin – Easy Listing & Member Directories for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (504) wp.org #11 ↑4 5 too low 7 Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #13 6 too low 8 PDF Ink Lite – Free PDF Watermark & Password Protection 2K+ · 4.6★ (51) wp.org #7 ↑5 1 too high 9 Embed PDF Viewer 20K+ · 4.7★ (19) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) wp.org #14 ↓4 4 too low 11 Save as PDF Plugin by PDFCrowd 1K+ · 4.1★ (27) wp.org #8 ↓1 3 too high 12 Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167) wp.org #23 11 too low 13 Cart PDF for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (26) wp.org #19 ↓1 6 too low 14 DK PDF – WordPress PDF Generator 3K+ · 4.5★ (44) wp.org #20 ↓1 6 too low 15 Fluent PDF Generator 20K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #9 ↓1 6 too high 16 Real3D Flipbook – 3D Flipbook, PDF Flipbook, PDF Viewer, PDF Embedder 10K+ · 4.5★ (11) wp.org #12 ↑5 4 too high 17 Pdf Embed 10K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #10 ↓1 7 too high 18 B BSK PDF Manager 7K+ · 4.5★ (46) wp.org #17 ↓4 1 too high 19 Wonder PDF Embed 8K+ · 4.5★ (13) wp.org #16 ↑8 3 too high 20 Print, PDF & Email by PrintFriendly 20K+ · 3.8★ (237) wp.org #22 2 too low 21 PDF Generator for WordPress 1K+ · 4.6★ (39) wp.org #18 ↓2 3 too high 22 PDF Viewer Block for Gutenberg 10K+ · 4.8★ (9) wp.org #15 ↓4 7 too high 23 PDF Forms Filler for CF7 3K+ · 4.8★ (13) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 PDF Embed Block – share documents right inside your posts 4K+ · 5.0★ (2) 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.