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

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 “personalized”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20. 9 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

CookieAdmin – Cookie Consent Banner shows at wp.org #13 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 400K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 1463 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #1 2

Polylang 900K+ · 4.7★ (3004) wp.org #2 3

Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #3 4

Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty 300K+ · 5.0★ (1244) wp.org #5 1 too low 5

Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) not PHP-current wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too high 6

Customer Reviews for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (1539) wp.org #7 ↓3 1 too low 7

Poptin – Email Marketing Automation, Newsletter & Exit Pop Ups, Email Popups 20K+ · 4.9★ (701) wp.org #10 ↓1 3 too low 8

Cart Abandonment Recovery for WooCommerce – Recover Lost Sales with Automated Emails 300K+ · 4.8★ (626) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #6 2 too high 9

Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) not PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too high 10

MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435) heavy footprint wp.org #12 ↓4 2 too low 11

SiteOrigin Widgets Bundle 400K+ · 4.9★ (134) wp.org #11 12

Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1463) not PHP-current wp.org #16 4 too low 13

Advanced Product Fields (Product Addons) for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.8★ (284) wp.org #17 4 too low 14

YayMail – WooCommerce Email Customizer 50K+ · 4.8★ (291) wp.org #18 4 too low 15

Side Cart Woocommerce | Woocommerce Cart 70K+ · 4.9★ (453) wp.org #21 ↓5 6 too low 16

Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) heavy footprint wp.org #14 ↑4 2 too high 17

Product Bundle Builder for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.8★ (61) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #9 ↑1 8 too high 18

Timeline Widget For Elementor (Elementor Timeline, Vertical & Horizontal Timeline) 70K+ · 4.8★ (248) wp.org #22 4 too low 19

CartFlows – Funnel Builder & Checkout Plugin for WooCommerce 200K+ · 4.8★ (517) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #15 ↓2 4 too high 20

Tutor LMS – eLearning and online course solution 100K+ · 4.4★ (590) heavy footprint wp.org #19 ↓4 1 too high 21

Redirection for Contact Form 7 200K+ · 4.7★ (275) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #20 ↑1 1 too high 22

MultiVendorX – WooCommerce Multivendor Marketplace AI Powered Solutions 2K+ · 4.8★ (432) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #24 2 too low 23

WPC Frequently Bought Together for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.5★ (84) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #23 ↓4 24

CookieAdmin – Cookie Consent Banner 400K+ · 5.0★ (4) host-installed base thin reviews wp.org #13 ↓1 11 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.