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← Rankings

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

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 “planet”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 4 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

PlanetStudio Payment Gateway shows at wp.org #6 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 80+ 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

User Submitted Posts – Enable Users to Submit Posts from the Front End places #3 on merit, 4.8★ from 913 reviews, but shows at wp.org #10. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Under Construction 600K+ · 4.8★ (1285) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 پارسی دیت – Parsi Date 100K+ · 4.6★ (130) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 User Submitted Posts – Enable Users to Submit Posts from the Front End 10K+ · 4.8★ (913) wp.org #10 ↑1 7 too low 4 Planet Pay payments 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #1 3 too high 5 F FeedWordPress 8K+ · 4.2★ (61) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Theme Switcha – Easily Switch Themes for Development and Testing 7K+ · 4.4★ (63) wp.org #8 ↓2 2 too low 7 ThumbPress – Compress Images, Manage Thumbnails, Detect Image Issues, WebP/AVIF, Lazy Loading, Hotlinking & More 20K+ · 3.7★ (117) wp.org #9 ↑1 2 too low 8 iPanorama 360 – Advanced Virtual Tour Builder 4K+ · 4.5★ (31) wp.org #11 ↑1 3 too low 9 Contact Form X 300+ · 5.0★ (32) wp.org #15 ↑1 6 too low 10 Awesome Support – WordPress HelpDesk & Support Plugin 6K+ · 3.5★ (194) wp.org #17 7 too low 11 Smart Search & Product Filter for WooCommerce – Searchanise 900+ · 4.4★ (43) wp.org #13 ↑1 2 too low 12 Gelato Integration for WooCommerce 5K+ · 3.3★ (12) wp.org #7 ↑1 5 too high 13 AI powered Toolbar for writing and translating 30+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #5 8 too high 14 Admiral Adblock Analytics 300+ · 3.5★ (12) wp.org #12 ↑1 2 too high 15 DWL Preloader 300+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #14 ↑1 1 too high 16 CopySafe Video Protection – Copy Protect Video 100+ · 3.7★ (6) wp.org #19 ↑2 3 too low 17 PlanetStudio Payment Gateway 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 ↑1 11 too high 18 Spreadconnect 600+ · 2.8★ (9) wp.org #18 19 Planet Pop — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 1 too low 20 Footprint – Find what slows your site 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↑3 4 too high 21 Planet Social Redirector — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↑1 22 AgeVerif 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↑2 23 AstroWay – Astrology, Birth Chart & Horoscope Widgets 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Verowa Connect 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 1 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.