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← Rankings

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

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 “points”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 2 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 #4 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 15 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 #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Points and Rewards for WooCommerce – Create Loyalty Programs, Reward Customer Purchases, Referral Points, User Badges, and Gamification 6K+ · 4.5★ (180) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 Points Management System For Gamification, Ranks, Badges, and Loyalty Rewards Program – myCred 10K+ · 4.6★ (472) wp.org #3 ↓2 1 too low 3 GamiPress – Gamification plugin to reward points, badges & ranks in WordPress, now with AI 10K+ · 4.9★ (493) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #10 ↑5 6 too low 5 Shipping Live Rates and Access Points for UPS for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.7★ (77) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Loyalty Points Rewards and Referral for WooCommerce – WPLoyalty 3K+ · 5.0★ (310) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) wp.org #9 2 too low 8 Simple Points and Rewards for WooCommerce – Create a Loyalty Program 400+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #2 ↑1 6 too high 9 Backup Migration 80K+ · 4.9★ (1338) wp.org #19 ↓7 10 too low 10 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #11 ↑9 1 too low 11 Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #17 6 too low 12 WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346) wp.org #13 1 too low 13 Media Focus Point 6K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #5 8 too high 14 Site Reviews 60K+ · 4.9★ (376) wp.org #21 ↓7 7 too low 15 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #16 ↑5 1 too low 16 Vitepos – Point of Sale (POS) for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.7★ (54) wp.org #18 ↑1 2 too low 17 XT Points & Rewards for WooCommerce 50+ · 4.5★ (13) wp.org #12 ↓2 5 too high 18 WCPOS – Point of Sale (POS) plugin for WooCommerce 5K+ · 3.7★ (84) wp.org #14 ↓3 4 too high 19 ACS Points Plugin 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #4 15 too high 20 Csomagpontok és Címkék WooCommerce-hez 7K+ · 5.0★ (27) wp.org #22 2 too low 21 wePOS – Point Of Sale (POS) for WooCommerce & Dokan 2K+ · 3.5★ (22) wp.org #23 ↓5 2 too low 22 RewardsWP – Loyalty Points & Referral Program for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 ↑1 7 too high 23 GamiPress – WooCommerce Points Per Purchase Total 400+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Loyalty Points and Rewards for Square 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↑2 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.