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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “push notifications”

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 “push notifications”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 3 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

PushAI – Self-Hosted Web Push Notifications shows at wp.org #13 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App places #8 on merit, 4.7★ from 525 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 OneSignal – Web Push Notifications 60K+ · 4.3★ (360) wp.org #1 2 Web Push Notifications – Webpushr 10K+ · 4.7★ (63) wp.org #2 3 Brevo – Email, SMS, Web Push, Chat, and more. 100K+ · 4.1★ (284) wp.org #9 ↓1 6 too low 4 Perfecty Push Notifications 3K+ · 4.6★ (42) wp.org #8 ↑1 4 too low 5 Gravitec.net – Web Push Notifications 1K+ · 4.4★ (21) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 PushEngage – Web Push Notifications, WooCommerce Automation & Chat Widget 9K+ · 4.2★ (34) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 Push Notifications for WP – Self Hosted Web Push Notifications 6K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #3 4 too high 8 Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (525) wp.org #24 16 too low 9 Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots 10K+ · 4.8★ (142) wp.org #23 14 too low 10 PushAlert – Web Push Notifications for WordPress and WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.6★ (8) wp.org #4 6 too high 11 Notification – Custom Notifications and Alerts for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (124) wp.org #22 ↓1 11 too low 12 iZooto – Web Push Notifications 900+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #5 7 too high 13 SendPulse Free Web Push 500+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #10 3 too high 14 Push Notifications by LaraPush 4K+ · 4.7★ (13) wp.org #12 ↓1 2 too high 15 Push Notification for Post and BuddyPress 200+ · 4.7★ (24) wp.org #17 ↓1 2 too low 16 INDIGITALL – Instant Chat, Web Push Notifications 90+ · 4.8★ (12) wp.org #11 ↑1 5 too high 17 WonderPush – Web Push Notifications – WooCommerce Abandoned Cart – GDPR 600+ · 4.8★ (36) wp.org #19 ↓1 2 too low 18 Notification Bar, Announcement and Cookie Notice WordPress Plugin – FooBar 3K+ · 4.8★ (10) wp.org #20 ↓1 2 too low 19 Notification Master – Real-Time WordPress Notifications With Email, SMS, Webhooks & More 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too low 20 Subscribers – Free Web Push Notifications 1K+ · 2.9★ (8) wp.org #14 6 too high 21 PushAI – Self-Hosted Web Push Notifications 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 8 too high 22 Web Push Notifications by Aimtell 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 7 too high 23 WhoKnew Signal – Self-Hosted Web Push Notifications & PWA 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 5 too high 24 Ultimate Push Notifications 50+ · 3.0★ (4) wp.org #16 ↑1 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.