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

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 “pink”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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

CBX Tour – User Walkthroughs & Guided Tours shows at wp.org #10 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 50+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics places #7 on merit, 3.7★ from 2408 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Flexible Editor Panel for Elementor 20K+ · 4.9★ (74) wp.org #1 2 PublishPress Taxonomies – Tag, Category, and Taxonomy Manager – Autotagger Automatically Add Terms 40K+ · 4.6★ (195) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Gift Cards (Gift Vouchers and Packages) (WooCommerce Supported) 1K+ · 4.7★ (115) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Easy Media Download 8K+ · 4.0★ (28) wp.org #4 5 Colibri Page Builder 80K+ · 4.4★ (80) wp.org #9 ↓1 4 too low 6 LMSCrafter Gradient Text for Elementor 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #2 4 too high 7 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #21 14 too low 8 SoundCloud Shortcode 5K+ · 4.5★ (23) wp.org #15 7 too low 9 Rino's Toolkit for Elementor 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 DC Login Designer 30+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 ↑2 3 too high 11 WBD Progress Bar For Gutenberg 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 ↓1 3 too high 12 Leanpay for WooCommerce 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 1 too high 13 Spotmaniac Dog Pedigree — · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 ↓1 5 too low 14 Smart Pregnancy Calculator Suite 80+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 2 too high 15 AmarPay bKash Gateway for WC 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 2 too high 16 Nuvora Timeline for Elementor 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 2 too high 17 WPC Shop Quiz – Product Finder for WooCommerce 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↑2 1 too high 18 Lookchange — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too high 19 S Sweet Sharmin Preloader — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 20 Mxwlsoft Post Row Colors – Background Highlighter for Admin — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 21 CBX Tour – User Walkthroughs & Guided Tours 50+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #10 11 too high 22 Claraeliz Team Notes — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 23 BigVNN Payment Gateway for VietQR — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓1 24 Alt Text Pro – AI Alt Text Generator 10+ · 0.0★ (0) 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.