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← Rankings

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

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 “probabilities”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 7 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

AI Provider for Ollama shows at wp.org #4 but places #10 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 300+ 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.

Buried gem

AfterShip Tracking – All-In-One WooCommerce Order Tracking (Free plan available) places #2 on merit, 4.8★ from 633 reviews, but shows at wp.org #12. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Download Manager 100K+ · 4.1★ (1006) wp.org #1 2 AfterShip Tracking – All-In-One WooCommerce Order Tracking (Free plan available) 7K+ · 4.8★ (633) wp.org #12 ↑1 10 too low 3 Weather Widget Pro 1K+ · 3.9★ (8) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Lucky Wheel for WooCommerce – Spin a Sale 1K+ · 4.5★ (19) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Freesoul Deactivate Plugins – Disable plugins on individual WordPress pages 8K+ · 4.8★ (104) wp.org #10 ↑1 5 too low 6 Random Post Plugin – Redirect URL to Post 3K+ · 5.0★ (20) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 Social LikeBox & Feed 10K+ · 3.3★ (47) wp.org #11 ↑1 4 too low 8 Lucky Wheel Giveaway 400+ · 3.9★ (8) wp.org #5 3 too high 9 Automatic Product Categories for WooCommerce 400+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too high 10 AI Provider for Ollama 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #4 6 too high 11 Freeze | The protection for abandoned websites 80+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #6 ↑1 5 too high 12 WinRocket Raffle and Giveaway Campaigns for WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #21 ↑3 9 too low 13 Random Image Block for Block Editor 100+ · 3.8★ (4) wp.org #13 ↑2 14 WebEquipe Spin & Win Wheel 60+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 ↑2 6 too high 15 Scratch and Win 100+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #17 ↑2 2 too low 16 Discover Metric – Content Checker & Optimizer for Google Discover 20+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #22 6 too low 17 B2B Request a Quote 50+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 ↑2 2 too high 18 Spin Wheel 400+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↑4 4 too high 19 FlyCRM – CRM with Sales Pipeline and Deal Management for WooCommerce 200+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↑4 3 too high 20 Polls CP 400+ · 2.6★ (5) wp.org #18 ↑3 2 too high 21 Spin Wheel – Lucky Wheel, Giveaway & Coupon Popup 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 PureDevs Customer History for WooCommerce 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓3 3 too high 23 SpamAnvil – AI Anti-Spam & Comment Spam Protection 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 24 Raffle for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↑2 4 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.