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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “project management”

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 “project management”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20.

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

HR Management Lite shows at wp.org #10 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.5★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 2144 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 Project Manager – AI Powered Project Management, Task Management, Kanban Board & Time Tracker 5K+ · 3.8★ (187) wp.org #1 2 Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184) wp.org #2 3 FluentBoards – Project Management, Task Management, Goal Tracking, Kanban Board, and, Team Collaboration 6K+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #3 4 Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418) wp.org #9 5 too low 5 UpStream: a Project Management Plugin for WordPress 500+ · 4.2★ (74) wp.org #5 6 Zephyr Project Manager 1K+ · 4.8★ (98) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #13 ↑1 6 too low 8 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #17 9 too low 9 Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296) wp.org #12 ↑1 3 too low 10 Taskbuilder – Project Management & Task Management Tool With Kanban Board 700+ · 4.7★ (7) wp.org #4 6 too high 11 Donation Platform for WooCommerce: Fundraising & Donation Management 7K+ · 4.9★ (99) wp.org #14 ↑7 3 too low 12 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #21 9 too low 13 LazyTasks – Project & Task Management with Collaboration, Kanban and Gantt Chart 90+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #6 ↓1 7 too high 14 Projectopia – Project Management Tool 200+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #7 ↑1 7 too high 15 MainWP Child – Securely Connects to the MainWP Dashboard to Manage Multiple Sites 700K+ · 5.0★ (71) wp.org #22 ↓1 7 too low 16 Order Tracking – WordPress Status Tracking Plugin 3K+ · 4.6★ (73) wp.org #23 ↓1 7 too low 17 JoomSport – for Sports: Team & League, Football, Hockey & more 1K+ · 4.9★ (44) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 Sugar Calendar – Events Calendar, Event Tickets, and Events Management Platform 10K+ · 4.5★ (24) wp.org #19 ↓9 1 too low 19 tarteaucitron.io – Cookie Banner & GDPR Consent Management 10K+ · 4.5★ (13) wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too low 20 Project Showcase – Responsive Portfolio, Case Studies & Filterable Grid Layouts 200+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #15 5 too high 21 Cloodo WP Workplace – CRM & Project Management for Services Business 100+ · 3.7★ (6) wp.org #18 ↓2 3 too high 22 Ndizi Project Management 10+ · 3.5★ (4) wp.org #11 ↑1 11 too high 23 HR Management Lite 200+ · 3.5★ (2) wp.org #10 ↑1 13 too high 24 Kanbanz 2K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 8 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.