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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “per role”

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 “per role”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

Role Based Pricing for Woo by Meow Crew shows at wp.org #6 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.2★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 27820 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 User Role Editor 700K+ · 4.5★ (288) wp.org #1 2 Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #2 3 PublishPress Capabilities: User Role Access Control, Admin Area Permissions 90K+ · 4.7★ (143) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #9 5 too low 5 Currency per Product for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.1★ (17) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 TranslatePress – Translate Multilingual sites with AI Translation 400K+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #16 ↓3 10 too low 7 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #15 8 too low 8 Product Visibility by User Role for WooCommerce 6K+ · 3.8★ (21) wp.org #4 4 too high 9 EasyMedia – Increase Media Upload File Size | Role-Based Upload Limit | Increase Execution Time 70K+ · 4.9★ (99) wp.org #12 3 too low 10 Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #17 7 too low 11 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27820) wp.org #23 12 too low 12 Maximum Products per User for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.6★ (42) wp.org #10 2 too high 13 Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots 10K+ · 4.8★ (142) wp.org #18 ↑1 5 too low 14 Admin Menu Editor 300K+ · 4.6★ (312) wp.org #20 6 too low 15 M Multiple Roles 5K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #11 4 too high 16 GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #22 ↑1 6 too low 17 Admin Bar Editor – Toolbar Customization with User Role based access & Custom menus 3K+ · 4.4★ (24) wp.org #14 ↑2 3 too high 18 Product Prices by User Roles for WooCommerce 1K+ · 3.4★ (14) wp.org #7 11 too high 19 Role Based Pricing for Woo by Meow Crew 2K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #6 13 too high 20 Membership & User Roles for WooCommerce (Automatic Role Changer) 400+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #8 12 too high 21 Hide Admin Bar Based on User Roles – Disable the WordPress Toolbar by Role or Capability 20K+ · 3.9★ (20) wp.org #19 ↓1 2 too high 22 ELEX WooCommerce Discount Per Payment Method 1K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #13 ↑1 9 too high 23 Role Based Content Restrictor 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 MaxtDesign Role-Based Pricing for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↑1 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.