Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “pro”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

Piwik PRO shows at wp.org #10 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.3★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Checkout Field Editor (Checkout Manager) for WooCommerce places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 1056 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Product Feed PRO for WooCommerce by AdTribes – Product Feeds for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.7★ (1071) wp.org #1 2 Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #2 3 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #3 4 Quiz Maker by AYS 20K+ · 4.9★ (601) wp.org #6 ↑15 2 too low 5 File Manager Pro – Filester 100K+ · 4.9★ (155) wp.org #5 ↑6 6 WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209) wp.org #7 ↓2 1 too low 7 Packlink PRO for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.4★ (263) wp.org #4 3 too high 8 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #9 ↓2 1 too low 9 Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery 300K+ · 4.3★ (4342) wp.org #11 ↓5 2 too low 10 Checkout Field Editor (Checkout Manager) for WooCommerce 400K+ · 4.9★ (1056) wp.org #17 ↑1 7 too low 11 Back In Stock Notifier for WooCommerce | WooCommerce Waitlist Pro 20K+ · 4.7★ (122) wp.org #8 ↑9 3 too high 12 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #18 ↓3 6 too low 13 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #21 ↓2 8 too low 14 Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) wp.org #15 ↓5 1 too low 15 Code Block Pro – Beautiful Syntax Highlighting 10K+ · 4.8★ (50) wp.org #16 1 too low 16 Advanced Classifieds & Directory Pro 2K+ · 4.7★ (96) wp.org #19 ↑1 3 too low 17 Custom CSS Pro 7K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #13 ↓1 4 too high 18 Custom 404 Pro 7K+ · 4.2★ (22) wp.org #14 4 too high 19 WP Bannerize Pro 800+ · 4.9★ (10) wp.org #23 ↑1 4 too low 20 Osom Author Pro 1K+ · 4.9★ (10) wp.org #24 4 too low 21 Free WooCommerce Products Slider/Carousel Pro 2K+ · 4.7★ (17) wp.org #22 ↑1 1 too low 22 Include Klaviyo for Elementor pro 2K+ · 4.2★ (10) wp.org #20 ↑2 2 too high 23 Genesis Portfolio Pro 5K+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #12 ↓3 11 too high 24 Piwik PRO 2K+ · 3.3★ (7) wp.org #10 ↓2 14 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.