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

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 “pecr”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 4 of the top 20. 2 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

Matomo Site Kit shows at wp.org #16 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 30+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1668) wp.org #1 2 WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (759) wp.org #2 3 Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #3 4 CookieYes – Cookie Banner for Cookie Consent (Easy to setup GDPR/CCPA Compliant Cookie Notice) 1M+ · 4.8★ (3236) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 GDPR Cookie Compliance – Cookie Banner, Cookie Consent, Cookie Notice for CCPA, EU Cookie Law 300K+ · 4.6★ (205) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Koko Analytics – Privacy-Friendly WordPress Analytics 70K+ · 5.0★ (245) wp.org #6 7 iubenda | All-in-one Compliance for GDPR / CCPA Cookie Consent + more 200K+ · 4.7★ (397) wp.org #7 8 Cookie Compliance for WordPress – Cookie Consent, GDPR & CCPA 800K+ · 4.8★ (3026) wp.org #11 3 too low 9 Termly – GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 80K+ · 3.6★ (204) wp.org #9 10 Plausible Analytics 10K+ · 5.0★ (29) wp.org #10 11 WPConsent – Cookie Banner & Cookie Consent for Privacy Compliance (GDPR / CCPA / EU Compliance Cookie Notice) 200K+ · 4.8★ (84) wp.org #13 2 too low 12 Fathom Analytics for WP 10K+ · 4.8★ (25) wp.org #12 13 Seers AI | Cookie Consent Banner – GDPR & CCPA Compliant Consent Management Platform 1K+ · 4.7★ (52) wp.org #14 1 too low 14 Free Cookie Notice & Consent Banner for Privacy Compliance (GDPR, CCPA, DSGVO and others) 7K+ · 4.0★ (16) wp.org #8 6 too high 15 ZenMarkup Privacy Analytics 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 16 MatrixInn GDPR & UK Compliance 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 2 too low 17 Icegram Cookie Manager – GDPR, CCPA & Google Consent Mode v2 Cookie Banner (Fast & Free) 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 5 too low 18 Clarke Cookie Consent — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 5 too low 19 Publytics — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 20 Page Visit Counter Analytics – Website Statistics & Google Analytics Alternative for WordPress 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 3 too high 21 Loglyuk Privacy Analytics — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 AI Post Summarizer Lite for WordPress — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 1 too high 23 Matomo Site Kit 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 7 too high 24 Seline Analytics — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24

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.