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

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 “prize”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Raffle for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #4 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 100+ 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

Gratisfaction- Loyalty, Rewards , Referral, Birthday and Giveaway Program places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 205 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. 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 #3 ↑1 2 too low 2 Lucky Wheel for WooCommerce – Spin a Sale 1K+ · 4.5★ (19) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Popup Builder by Claspo – Email Popup, Spin the Wheel, Exit Intent 1K+ · 5.0★ (40) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 Lucky Wheel Giveaway 400+ · 3.9★ (8) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 Giveaways and Contests by RafflePress – Get More Website Traffic, Email Subscribers, and Social Followers 20K+ · 3.9★ (43) wp.org #5 6 WP Optin Wheel – Gamified Optin Email Marketing Tool for WordPress and WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.9★ (81) wp.org #10 ↑1 4 too low 7 Scratch & Win – Giveaways and Contests. Boost subscribers, traffic, repeat visits, referrals, sales and more 100+ · 4.7★ (30) wp.org #9 ↓1 2 too low 8 Contests by Rewards Fuel 40+ · 4.4★ (65) wp.org #11 ↓2 3 too low 9 Revopic – Photo Reviews for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (77) wp.org #14 ↓1 5 too low 10 Woorise – Forms, Quizzes & Giveaways 1K+ · 5.0★ (31) wp.org #13 ↓1 3 too low 11 Gratisfaction- Loyalty, Rewards , Referral, Birthday and Giveaway Program 600+ · 4.8★ (205) wp.org #23 ↓1 12 too low 12 Social Boost: Giveaways, Instant win and Contests. Grow followers, shares, subscribers, traffic, referrals, sales and more 100+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #19 ↓2 7 too low 13 WinRocket Raffle and Giveaway Campaigns for WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #15 ↓1 2 too low 14 Funnelforms Free – Multi Step Form, Contact Form & Lead Funnel Builder 1K+ · 4.8★ (32) wp.org #24 10 too low 15 Simple Points and Rewards for WooCommerce – Create a Loyalty Program 400+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #8 ↓1 7 too high 16 SweepWidget – Giveaway, Contest, Sweepstakes, Competition & Photo Contest Plugin 100+ · 4.3★ (14) wp.org #17 ↓2 1 too low 17 Popup builder with Gamification, Multi-Step Popups, Page-Level Targeting, and WooCommerce Triggers 70K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #18 ↓2 1 too low 18 Run Contests, Raffles, and Giveaways with ContestsWP 100+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #16 ↑2 2 too high 19 Smartarget Lucky Wheel 100+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #12 ↓2 7 too high 20 WebEquipe Spin & Win Wheel 60+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 ↓1 13 too high 21 Raffle for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 ↓1 17 too high 22 Scratch and Win 100+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #21 ↓1 1 too high 23 Spin Wheel 400+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too high 24 EgyDevInfo Prize Wheel — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓1 2 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.