wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “post vote”
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 “post vote”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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
Rate Star Review Vote – AJAX Reviews, Votes, Star Ratings shows at wp.org #12 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 20+ 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.
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #2 1 too low 2 
Rate My Post – Star Rating Plugin by FeedbackWP 20K+ · 4.7★ (159) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #1 1 too high 3 
Revive Social – Social Media Auto Post and Scheduling Automation Plugin 20K+ · 4.0★ (556)
wp.org #3 4 
Customer Reviews for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (1539)
wp.org #5 1 too low 5 
WP ULike – Like Buttons, Voting & Engagement Analytics 60K+ · 4.8★ (283)
wp.org #6 1 too low 6 
kk Star Ratings – Rate Post & Collect User Feedbacks 70K+ · 3.9★ (171)
wp.org #4 2 too high 7 
WP-PostRatings 20K+ · 4.4★ (178)
wp.org #7 8 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143)
wp.org #11 3 too low 9 
YOP Poll 10K+ · 4.4★ (452)
wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too low 10 
Contest Gallery – Upload & Vote Photos, Media, Sell with PayPal & Stripe 1K+ · 4.4★ (89)
wp.org #8 2 too high 11 
WP-Polls 40K+ · 4.2★ (136)
wp.org #9 ↑1 2 too high 12 
WP Recipe Maker 50K+ · 5.0★ (356) heavy footprint
wp.org #15 3 too low 13 
The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461)
wp.org #19 ↓2 6 too low 14 
EWWW Image Optimizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1842)
wp.org #20 ↑2 6 too low 15 
Democracy Poll 6K+ · 4.6★ (86)
wp.org #14 1 too high 16 
TS Poll – Survey, Versus Poll, Image Poll, Video Poll 3K+ · 4.7★ (235) not PHP-current
wp.org #17 ↑1 1 too low 17 
Poll Maker by AYS – Versus Polls, Anonymous Polls, Image Polls 6K+ · 4.4★ (91)
wp.org #21 ↓1 4 too low 18 
Like Button Rating ♥ LikeBtn 3K+ · 4.4★ (273) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #22 ↓1 4 too low 19 
IdeaPush 700+ · 4.5★ (31) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #18 ↑1 1 too high 20 
Post Kinds 100+ · 4.3★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #13 7 too high 21 
Crowdsignal Dashboard – Polls, Surveys & more 200K+ · 2.7★ (34)
wp.org #16 5 too high 22 Rate Star Review Vote – AJAX Reviews, Votes, Star Ratings 20+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #12 10 too high 23 
SurveyX Builder – Survey, Poll, Quiz & Feedback Form 2K+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #23 24 
User Post Collections 20+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #24 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.