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

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 “pops”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 of the top 20. 5 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

CM Pop-Up – Create engaging popups to capture attention and boost interaction shows at wp.org #18 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 8K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.4★ average from 13 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Social Media Share Buttons & Social Sharing Icons places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 5333 reviews, but shows at wp.org #11. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Poptin – Email Marketing Automation, Newsletter & Exit Pop Ups, Email Popups 20K+ · 4.9★ (701) wp.org #1 2 Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty 300K+ · 5.0★ (1244) wp.org #2 3 Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Pop-up 10K+ · 4.7★ (86) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups 80K+ · 4.4★ (859) wp.org #5 6 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #6 ↓2 7 Social Media Share Buttons & Social Sharing Icons 100K+ · 4.8★ (5333) wp.org #11 ↓4 4 too low 8 Website Pop-up Builder by BDOW! (formerly Sumo): Pop-ups + forms for email opt-ins and lead generation 10K+ · 4.2★ (519) wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too high 9 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #8 1 too high 10 Chatway Live Chat – AI Chatbot, Customer Support, FAQ & Helpdesk Customer Service & Chat Buttons 30K+ · 5.0★ (775) wp.org #14 ↓2 4 too low 11 Popup Builder – Create highly converting, mobile friendly marketing popups. 200K+ · 4.7★ (2215) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 Email Marketing for WooCommerce by Omnisend 40K+ · 4.9★ (169) wp.org #12 ↑1 13 MC4WP: Mailchimp for WordPress 1M+ · 4.8★ (1497) wp.org #13 ↓2 14 Coupon X – Discount Popups, Promo Codes Pop Ups for WooCommerce & Announcement Popups 1K+ · 4.9★ (52) wp.org #10 4 too high 15 Popup Maker – Responsive popup, Exit Intent Pop up, Email Optins, Autoresponder & More 7K+ · 4.5★ (144) wp.org #15 ↓1 16 Postie 10K+ · 4.7★ (139) wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too low 17 Hubbub Lite – Fast, free social sharing and follow buttons 30K+ · 4.7★ (173) wp.org #24 ↓1 7 too low 18 Popup Builder & Popup Maker for WordPress – OptinMonster Email Marketing and Lead Generation 1M+ · 4.3★ (821) wp.org #22 ↓1 4 too low 19 QuadLayers TikTok Feed 7K+ · 3.9★ (61) wp.org #23 ↓1 4 too low 20 Newsletters, Email Marketing, SMS and Popups by Omnisend 100K+ · 4.8★ (17) wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too high 21 Notivo Notification for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.3★ (80) wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too high 22 Jetpack VideoPress 7K+ · 4.0★ (16) wp.org #21 ↓1 1 too high 23 involve.me – Create Surveys, Quizzes, Calculators & Forms as Embedded Widgets or Pop-ups 400+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #19 ↓1 4 too high 24 CM Pop-Up – Create engaging popups to capture attention and boost interaction 8K+ · 3.4★ (13) wp.org #18 ↓1 6 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.