Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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

Checkout Gateway for Paddle shows at wp.org #8 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 9 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

Knit Pay – Cashfree, Instamojo, Razorpay, PayPal and more places #5 on merit, 4.9★ from 100 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418) wp.org #1 2 Import and export users and customers 70K+ · 4.7★ (259) wp.org #2 3 If-So Dynamic Content – Elementor & All Page Builders Personalization 7K+ · 4.7★ (92) wp.org #6 ↑1 3 too low 4 ExpressTechSoftwares Discord Add-on for Paid Memberships Pro 600+ · 4.3★ (20) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Knit Pay – Cashfree, Instamojo, Razorpay, PayPal and more 2K+ · 4.9★ (100) wp.org #15 ↓1 10 too low 6 User Frontend – Membership, User Registration, User Profile, User Directory & Content Restriction with Frontend Post Submission 20K+ · 4.1★ (537) wp.org #12 ↑3 6 too low 7 WP Courses LMS – Online Courses Builder, eLearning Courses, Courses Solution, Education Courses 500+ · 4.9★ (22) wp.org #7 ↓1 8 Restrictions for BuddyPress 300+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #4 4 too high 9 Conditional Blocks – Advanced Content Visibility Control for WordPress 2K+ · 4.9★ (15) wp.org #11 2 too low 10 Knit Pay Pro – Mercado Pago, CCAvenue, Easebuzz, Thawani 200+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #10 11 Knit Pay UPI – Paytm for Business, PhonePe Business, BharatPe, HDFC 200+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #13 ↓1 2 too low 12 Social Login, Passkeys, Magic Link & Email OTP – Passwordless Login by VentraConnect 90+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #19 ↓1 7 too low 13 Membership Visibility Control for Elementor (PMPro) – by Shakib 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 8 too high 14 Login Logout Menu & Redirect 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 ↓1 4 too low 15 BP Custom Functionalities 10+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #20 ↓1 5 too low 16 Multiple Currencies for Paid Memberships Pro 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 7 too high 17 Checkout Gateway for Paddle 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 9 too high 18 Admin Email for PMPro Membership Expiry — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too high 19 Cryptocurrency Payments for Paid Memberships Pro (PMPro) by CryptoPay 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too low 20 Advanced Passkeys for Secure Login 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 ↓1 3 too high 21 Payments with Eway for Paid Memberships Pro — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 USDPAY for Paid Memberships Pro — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓1 2 too low 23 Paid Memberships Pro Addon for WP Courseware 200+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #16 ↑5 7 too high 24 Click & Pledge – Paid Memberships Pro 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓1 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.