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

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 “purchasing”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 10 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

Flexible Subscriptions shows at wp.org #7 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.6★ average from 9 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery places #8 on merit, 4.7★ from 616 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 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #1 2 Paid Membership Subscriptions – Effortless Memberships, Recurring Payments & Content Restriction 10K+ · 4.7★ (270) wp.org #2 3 Download Monitor 80K+ · 4.5★ (525) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 PW WooCommerce Gift Cards 20K+ · 4.7★ (195) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Beaver Builder Page Builder – Drag and Drop Website Builder 100K+ · 4.7★ (394) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 Price Based on Country for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.8★ (262) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder 600K+ · 4.9★ (4514) wp.org #12 ↓2 5 too low 8 Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616) wp.org #18 10 too low 9 WPML Multilingual & Multicurrency for WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.2★ (454) wp.org #16 7 too low 10 Custom Permalinks 100K+ · 4.1★ (116) wp.org #13 3 too low 11 Simple Calendar – Google Calendar Plugin 50K+ · 3.8★ (397) wp.org #14 3 too low 12 Print, PDF & Email by PrintFriendly 20K+ · 3.8★ (237) wp.org #10 ↑1 2 too high 13 Payment Gateway for PayPal on WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.4★ (73) wp.org #9 4 too high 14 Zakeke Interactive Product Designer for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.7★ (131) wp.org #19 5 too low 15 Min Max Quantities – Set Minimum/Maximum Quantity & Price Limits with Step Control for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.8★ (60) wp.org #11 ↑1 4 too high 16 Multiple Columns for Gravity Forms 10K+ · 4.5★ (30) wp.org #8 8 too high 17 Subaccounts for WooCommerce 300+ · 5.0★ (27) wp.org #23 ↓3 6 too low 18 WP Time Slots Booking Form 1K+ · 5.0★ (41) wp.org #22 ↑1 4 too low 19 WP Search with Algolia 7K+ · 4.5★ (24) wp.org #20 1 too low 20 Flexible Subscriptions 1K+ · 4.6★ (9) wp.org #7 13 too high 21 Stock Locations for WooCommerce 800+ · 4.8★ (53) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 WPC Buy Now Button for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #15 7 too high 23 YITH WooCommerce Quick View 80K+ · 3.8★ (27) wp.org #17 6 too high 24 Call for Price for WooCommerce 8K+ · 3.9★ (27) 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.