Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “planner”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 5 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

Stachethemes Seat Planner Lite shows at wp.org #5 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 80+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Cost Calculator Builder places #11 on merit, 4.5★ from 393 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #1 2 PublishPress Planner – Editorial Calendar, Marketing Content, Kanban Board 6K+ · 4.9★ (178) wp.org #2 3 WP Recipe Maker 50K+ · 5.0★ (356) wp.org #7 ↑7 4 too low 4 Simple Event Planner 1K+ · 4.3★ (23) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Schedule Post Changes With PublishPress Future: Unpublish, Delete, Change Status, Trash, Change Categories 100K+ · 4.5★ (172) wp.org #8 ↓1 3 too low 6 Eventin – Events Calendar, Tickets, Registration, Booking & WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (413) wp.org #10 ↓1 4 too low 7 AAA Autoload Optimizer 9K+ · 4.6★ (25) wp.org #6 ↑7 1 too high 8 Shelf Planner Inventory Management for WooCommerce 100+ · 4.7★ (16) wp.org #4 ↑1 4 too high 9 Co-Authors, Multiple Authors and Guest Authors in an Author Box with PublishPress Authors 20K+ · 4.9★ (114) wp.org #11 ↑5 2 too low 10 Metricool – Social media and site statistics 90K+ · 4.4★ (23) wp.org #9 ↑6 1 too high 11 Cost Calculator Builder 20K+ · 4.5★ (393) wp.org #24 13 too low 12 CartFlows – Funnel Builder & Checkout Plugin for WooCommerce 200K+ · 4.8★ (517) wp.org #18 ↑4 6 too low 13 PublishPress Revisions: Duplicate Posts, Submit, Approve and Schedule Content Changes 10K+ · 4.6★ (66) wp.org #20 ↑4 7 too low 14 Xagio SEO & AEO – AI SEO for Google Rankings & AI Visibility 10K+ · 4.9★ (51) wp.org #13 ↓2 1 too high 15 WP Delicious – Recipe Plugin for Food Bloggers (formerly Delicious Recipes) 4K+ · 4.9★ (71) wp.org #23 ↓2 8 too low 16 Event Genius – Event Calendar, Event Registration, and Attendee Management 600+ · 4.8★ (17) wp.org #19 3 too low 17 Stachethemes Seat Planner Lite 80+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #5 ↑1 12 too high 18 Comment Experience by Progress Planner 500+ · 3.5★ (13) wp.org #12 ↓4 6 too high 19 Order Delivery Date And Time 1K+ · 4.6★ (19) wp.org #16 ↑2 3 too high 20 Calendar.online / Kalender.digital – Plugin 2K+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #15 ↓3 5 too high 21 Termin-Kalender 500+ · 4.2★ (9) wp.org #21 ↓2 22 AutoWP – AI Content Writer & Rewriter 900+ · 3.8★ (15) wp.org #17 5 too high 23 Slickplan Importer 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #22 ↓2 1 too high 24 RP 4U (Maps & Route Planner) 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 ↓4 10 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.