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

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 “pr”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

WooCommerce Shipping shows at wp.org #7 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 70K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.0★ average from 18 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

hCaptcha for WP places #8 on merit, 4.6★ from 88 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway 700K+ · 3.1★ (237) wp.org #1 2 Enable Media Replace 600K+ · 4.4★ (302) wp.org #4 ↑2 2 too low 3 Simple Local Avatars 100K+ · 4.6★ (89) wp.org #5 ↓1 2 too low 4 VK Blocks 100K+ · 4.8★ (6) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 Core Rollback 20K+ · 4.7★ (16) wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too low 6 Better Click To Share – Shareable Quote Boxes for X (Twitter) 6K+ · 4.8★ (48) wp.org #10 4 too low 7 Powered Cache – Caching and Optimization for WordPress – Easily Improve PageSpeed & Web Vitals Score 3K+ · 4.8★ (58) wp.org #11 ↑3 4 too low 8 hCaptcha for WP 70K+ · 4.6★ (88) wp.org #14 ↓2 6 too low 9 VK All in One Expansion Unit 100K+ · 4.0★ (7) wp.org #3 6 too high 10 PDF.js Viewer 20K+ · 4.4★ (53) wp.org #15 5 too low 11 WP Debugging 10K+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 WordPress Beta Tester 2K+ · 4.0★ (47) wp.org #12 ↓1 13 Magic Login – Magic Link & Passwordless Authentication for WordPress – Login Without Password 3K+ · 4.8★ (26) wp.org #16 3 too low 14 Plugin Detective – Troubleshooting Conflicts 5K+ · 4.0★ (49) wp.org #13 1 too high 15 Press This 5K+ · 3.7★ (25) wp.org #20 5 too low 16 Alma – Pay in installments or later for WooCommerce 1K+ · 3.7★ (6) wp.org #8 8 too high 17 MWW Disclaimer Buttons 400+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #19 ↓1 2 too low 18 WooCommerce Shipping 70K+ · 2.0★ (18) wp.org #7 ↓2 11 too high 19 Auto-Close Comments, Pingbacks and Trackbacks 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 2 too low 20 I ionCube Tester Plus 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 ↑1 3 too low 21 Chainwire Integration 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 4 too high 22 I-PR AVIF Converter – Automatic Image Optimization 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↑4 4 too high 23 E-kassa.fi POS-system 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 ↑1 1 too high 24 Order Cancellation & Returns for WooCommerce 300+ · 5.0★ (1) 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.