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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “psd2”

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 “psd2”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 of the top 20. 8 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

PatSaTECH's Opayo Direct Gateway for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #9 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 50+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ 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 #5 on merit, 4.8★ from 2144 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WooCommerce PayPal Payments 800K+ · 2.9★ (583) wp.org #1 2 Payment Gateway for Redsys & WooCommerce Lite 20K+ · 4.9★ (87) wp.org #2 3 Calculated Fields Form – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact, Payment, Quote, Quiz & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (973) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 WP Time Slots Booking Form 1K+ · 5.0★ (41) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #18 ↓1 13 too low 6 CP Contact Form with PayPal 800+ · 3.8★ (65) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 Contact Form Email 8K+ · 4.3★ (102) wp.org #10 3 too low 8 Amazon Pay for WooCommerce 10K+ · 2.5★ (27) wp.org #4 4 too high 9 Paymattic – Secure, Simple Payment & Donation with Subscription Payments, Recurring Donations, Customer Management 3K+ · 4.8★ (44) wp.org #13 ↓1 4 too low 10 GoPay for WooCommerce 1K+ · 2.6★ (10) wp.org #3 7 too high 11 Piraeus Bank WooCommerce Payment Gateway 3K+ · 3.9★ (35) wp.org #20 ↓1 9 too low 12 Civist – Petitions and Fundraising 900+ · 4.6★ (19) wp.org #22 ↓1 10 too low 13 Stripe Payment Forms by WP Full Pay – Accept Credit Card Payments, Donations & Subscriptions 8K+ · 4.2★ (26) wp.org #23 ↓1 10 too low 14 Express Checkout via PayPal for WooCommerce 800+ · 3.8★ (22) wp.org #14 ↓1 15 Transferencia Online 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 7 too high 16 Q Quickpay for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.8★ (12) wp.org #24 ↓1 8 too low 17 PatSaTECH's Opayo Direct Gateway for WooCommerce 50+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #9 8 too high 18 Cashflows for WooCommerce 500+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 ↓1 7 too high 19 Worldline Global Online Pay for WooCommerce 500+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 ↓1 7 too high 20 Gain Commerce NMI Payment Gateway for WooCommerce 70+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↓1 5 too high 21 Autify Digital Lloyds® Gateway for WooCommerce 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↓1 5 too high 22 BANKpay+ Instant Bank Payments for WooCommerce (EUR) 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↓1 5 too high 23 PAYCOMET for WooCommerce 2K+ · 2.5★ (4) wp.org #19 ↓1 4 too high 24 kevin. Payment Gateway for WooCommerce 30+ · 1.5★ (2) wp.org #21 ↓1 3 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.