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

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 and rewards”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 16 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

Loyalty Points and Rewards for Square shows at wp.org #7 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 20+ 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

ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities places #11 on merit, 4.6★ from 236 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. 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 #3 ↓2 2 too low 2 Points and Rewards for WooCommerce – Create Loyalty Programs, Reward Customer Purchases, Referral Points, User Badges, and Gamification 6K+ · 4.5★ (180) wp.org #2 3 Loyalty Points Rewards and Referral for WooCommerce – WPLoyalty 3K+ · 5.0★ (310) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Simple Points and Rewards for WooCommerce – Create a Loyalty Program 400+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #1 ↑2 3 too high 5 GamiPress – Gamification plugin to reward points, badges & ranks in WordPress, now with AI 10K+ · 4.9★ (493) wp.org #5 6 Site Reviews 60K+ · 4.9★ (376) wp.org #11 5 too low 7 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #16 9 too low 8 MyRewards 2K+ · 4.7★ (58) wp.org #13 5 too low 9 XT Points & Rewards for WooCommerce 50+ · 4.5★ (13) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 Gratisfaction- Loyalty, Rewards , Referral, Birthday and Giveaway Program 600+ · 4.8★ (205) wp.org #14 4 too low 11 ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities 5K+ · 4.6★ (236) wp.org #21 ↓1 10 too low 12 Subscriptions for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.5★ (180) wp.org #15 3 too low 13 Wallet System for WooCommerce – Digital Wallet, Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL), Instant Cashback, Referral program, Partial & Subscription Payments 1K+ · 4.9★ (65) wp.org #18 5 too low 14 Sliding Cart for WooCommerce by FunnelKit – Skip Cart & Reach WooCommerce Checkout Faster 30K+ · 5.0★ (111) wp.org #23 9 too low 15 EXMAGE – WordPress Image Links 5K+ · 5.0★ (33) wp.org #24 ↓1 9 too low 16 Gratisfaction- Contests Giveaways Referral Loyalty Rewards and Birthdays Program 20+ · 5.0★ (16) wp.org #19 ↓1 3 too low 17 LoyaltyX – Loyalty Program, Points and Rewards for WooCommerce 20+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #8 ↑2 9 too high 18 Faview – Virtual Reviews for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.6★ (54) wp.org #22 ↓1 4 too low 19 EchoRewards – Refer a Friend Rewards Program for WooCommerce 300+ · 3.9★ (8) wp.org #10 ↓1 9 too high 20 Loyalty Points and Rewards for Square 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 13 too high 21 RewardsWP – Loyalty Points & Referral Program for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 4 too high 22 myCred Addons – Ultimate myCred Modules To Support WordPress Gamification and Loyalty Rewards 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 ↓1 13 too high 23 Loyalty Points and Rewards Plugin for WordPress – Pointics 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too high 24 EPOI – WP Points and Rewards 10+ · 3.5★ (2) wp.org #12 12 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.