Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “planning”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 3 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

TemplateSpare – 1000+ WordPress Starter Templates & Full Site Migration Tool | 1-Click Import/Export & No-Code Builder shows at wp.org #6 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Database Backup for WordPress places #10 on merit, 4.5★ from 66 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Polylang 900K+ · 4.7★ (3003) wp.org #1 2 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) wp.org #2 3 Simple Local Avatars 100K+ · 4.6★ (89) wp.org #3 4 W WP Meta and Date Remover 80K+ · 4.2★ (71) wp.org #4 5 WP Recipe Maker 50K+ · 5.0★ (356) wp.org #7 ↓2 2 too low 6 Disabled Source, Disabled Right Click and Content Protection 10K+ · 4.9★ (103) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 Event Genius – Event Calendar, Event Registration, and Attendee Management 600+ · 4.8★ (17) wp.org #5 ↑2 2 too high 8 Nelio Content – Editorial Calendar & Social Media Auto-Posting 3K+ · 4.4★ (104) wp.org #11 ↑2 3 too low 9 Metricool – Social media and site statistics 90K+ · 4.4★ (22) wp.org #8 1 too high 10 Database Backup for WordPress 60K+ · 4.5★ (66) wp.org #17 ↓1 7 too low 11 Local Delivery Drivers for WooCommerce 800+ · 4.3★ (18) wp.org #10 ↑1 1 too high 12 Event Booking Manager for WooCommerce – Sell Tickets, Event Registration, RSVP & Event Calendar 7K+ · 4.5★ (167) wp.org #16 ↑2 4 too low 13 L List all URLs 4K+ · 4.7★ (19) wp.org #14 ↓2 1 too low 14 Log in with Google 6K+ · 4.6★ (17) wp.org #15 1 too low 15 Xagio SEO & AEO – AI SEO for Google Rankings & AI Visibility 10K+ · 4.9★ (51) wp.org #21 ↑3 6 too low 16 Timeline Module for Divi 3K+ · 4.8★ (9) wp.org #12 ↑2 4 too high 17 TemplateSpare – 1000+ WordPress Starter Templates & Full Site Migration Tool | 1-Click Import/Export & No-Code Builder 10K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #6 11 too high 18 StoryChief 1K+ · 4.7★ (14) wp.org #20 ↑1 2 too low 19 EventON – Events Calendar 6K+ · 4.1★ (44) wp.org #19 ↑3 20 Angie – Agentic AI 100K+ · 3.3★ (20) wp.org #24 ↓5 4 too low 21 SmartAgenda – Prise de rendez-vous en ligne 300+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #18 ↓1 3 too high 22 Slickplan Importer 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #22 ↓2 23 Order auto complete for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #23 24 Share Cart for WooCommerce 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 ↓3 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.