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

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 “plus”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Hello Plus shows at wp.org #6 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 18 places. Its 70K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

The Events Calendar places #11 on merit, 4.2★ from 2461 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 W WP Photo Album Plus 10K+ · 4.7★ (199) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 Table of Contents Plus – Automatic Table of Contents for Posts & Pages 200K+ · 4.5★ (187) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #5 ↓1 2 too low 4 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Embed Plus for YouTube Gallery, Livestream and Lazy Loading with Facades 100K+ · 4.6★ (572) wp.org #8 ↓1 3 too low 6 Co-Authors Plus 20K+ · 3.5★ (77) wp.org #4 ↓1 2 too high 7 Plugin Notes Plus 9K+ · 5.0★ (62) wp.org #9 ↓1 2 too low 8 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #19 ↓1 11 too low 9 The Plus Addons for Elementor – Mega Menu, Header Footer, Post Grid, AI Widgets & Templates 100K+ · 4.6★ (388) wp.org #15 ↓1 6 too low 10 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #13 ↓1 3 too low 11 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #24 ↓1 13 too low 12 Quantity Plus Minus Button for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.4★ (30) wp.org #7 ↓1 5 too high 13 Plus WebP or AVIF 5K+ · 4.6★ (26) wp.org #10 ↓1 3 too high 14 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #21 ↓1 7 too low 15 Reviews Plus 1K+ · 4.4★ (15) wp.org #14 ↓1 1 too high 16 Elements Plus! 6K+ · 4.8★ (23) wp.org #23 ↓1 7 too low 17 Mime Types Plus 10K+ · 3.8★ (10) wp.org #12 ↓2 5 too high 18 Billingo Plus integráció WooCommerce-hez 900+ · 5.0★ (19) wp.org #22 ↓1 4 too low 19 CSV Importer Plus for ACF 400+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #18 ↓1 1 too high 20 LIQUID RWD Plus 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 ↓1 21 Confirm Plus Contact Form 7 7K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 10 too high 22 Shape Dividers Plus for Elementor 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 ↓1 5 too high 23 Demo Importer Plus 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↓1 7 too high 24 Hello Plus 70K+ · 3.0★ (1) wp.org #6 ↓1 18 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.