Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “permits”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 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

Integrate PostHog Web Analytics shows at wp.org #6 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 300+ 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.

Buried gem

Flipbox – Awesomes Flip Boxes Image Overlay places #9 on merit, 4.7★ from 149 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 U Upload Larger Plugins 6K+ · 5.0★ (20) wp.org #1 2 W WP FullCalendar 8K+ · 4.7★ (96) wp.org #2 3 MetForm – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Conditional Forms, Form Templates & Custom Form Builder for Elementor 500K+ · 4.7★ (509) wp.org #9 ↓2 6 too low 4 U Use Administrator Password 800+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Smart COD for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.6★ (52) wp.org #8 ↑1 3 too low 6 Team Members – Multi Language Supported Team Plugin 6K+ · 5.0★ (85) wp.org #12 ↓1 6 too low 7 Discussion Board – WordPress Forum Plugin 1K+ · 4.6★ (43) wp.org #14 ↓1 7 too low 8 Wise Chat 4K+ · 4.4★ (105) wp.org #19 ↓1 11 too low 9 Flipbox – Awesomes Flip Boxes Image Overlay 9K+ · 4.7★ (149) wp.org #23 ↓1 14 too low 10 Dynamic Tags for Elementor 700+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #4 ↑1 6 too high 11 European VAT Compliance Assistant for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.8★ (26) wp.org #20 ↓1 9 too low 12 Membee Login 400+ · 3.4★ (5) wp.org #5 ↓1 7 too high 13 AWEOS Google Maps iframe load per click 3K+ · 4.7★ (10) wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too low 14 Add to Home Screen & Progressive Web App 1K+ · 3.7★ (25) wp.org #21 ↓1 7 too low 15 Email Inquiry & Cart Options for WooCommerce 800+ · 3.2★ (20) wp.org #15 16 CL Simplest SMTP 20+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #16 ↓2 17 N No Weak Passwords 300+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #11 ↓1 6 too high 18 A Add Email Signature 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 ↓2 8 too high 19 E Events Manager and WPML Compatibility 1K+ · 2.8★ (13) wp.org #13 ↓1 6 too high 20 Integrate PostHog Web Analytics 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 14 too high 21 Oxygen MyData for WooCommerce 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 14 too high 22 AdFlow – Ad Inserter & Ad Manager: AdSense, Banner Ads & ads.txt 3K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #22 ↓1 23 Flexa Block – Blocks & Page Builder 1K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓1 5 too high 24 Memberships and User Profiles for WooCommerce – ProfileGrid WooCommerce Integration 300+ · 5.0★ (1) 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.