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

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 “point”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 6 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

ACS Points Plugin shows at wp.org #9 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Backup Migration places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 1338 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Points Management System For Gamification, Ranks, Badges, and Loyalty Rewards Program – myCred 10K+ · 4.6★ (472) wp.org #2 ↓1 1 too low 2 Media Focus Point 6K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #1 ↑1 1 too high 3 Shipping Live Rates and Access Points for UPS for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.7★ (77) wp.org #3 ↑2 4 Loyalty Points Rewards and Referral for WooCommerce – WPLoyalty 3K+ · 5.0★ (310) wp.org #4 ↑3 5 Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #10 ↑1 4 too low 7 Points and Rewards for WooCommerce – Create Loyalty Programs, Reward Customer Purchases, Referral Points, User Badges, and Gamification 6K+ · 4.5★ (180) wp.org #5 ↓2 2 too high 8 GamiPress – Gamification plugin to reward points, badges & ranks in WordPress, now with AI 10K+ · 4.9★ (493) wp.org #8 9 Backup Migration 80K+ · 4.9★ (1338) wp.org #23 14 too low 10 WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346) wp.org #15 ↑2 5 too low 11 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #14 ↑9 3 too low 12 Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #22 ↓2 10 too low 13 Vitepos – Point of Sale (POS) for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.7★ (54) wp.org #12 1 too high 14 WCPOS – Point of Sale (POS) plugin for WooCommerce 5K+ · 3.7★ (84) wp.org #7 ↓3 7 too high 15 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #21 ↑1 6 too low 16 Jovvie Point of Sale POS for WooCommerce 100+ · 4.5★ (22) wp.org #13 ↑1 3 too high 17 Barcode Scanner (+Mobile App) – Inventory manager, Order fulfillment system, POS (Point of Sale) 700+ · 5.0★ (52) wp.org #17 ↓1 18 Simple Points and Rewards for WooCommerce – Create a Loyalty Program 400+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #11 ↓1 7 too high 19 XT Points & Rewards for WooCommerce 50+ · 4.5★ (13) wp.org #24 5 too low 20 wePOS – Point Of Sale (POS) for WooCommerce & Dokan 2K+ · 3.5★ (22) wp.org #18 ↓5 2 too high 21 ACS Points Plugin 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #9 12 too high 22 FooSales – Point of Sale (POS) for WooCommerce 600+ · 3.2★ (13) wp.org #16 ↓1 6 too high 23 WebPOS – Point of Sale for WooCommerce 50+ · 3.7★ (6) wp.org #19 ↓1 4 too high 24 RewardsWP – Loyalty Points & Referral Program for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 ↓1 4 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.