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

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

PDF Password Protect shows at wp.org #12 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 200+ 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

PI Advanced Flat rate / Conditional shipping for WooCommerce places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 58 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Event Booking Manager for WooCommerce – Sell Tickets, Event Registration, RSVP & Event Calendar 7K+ · 4.5★ (167) wp.org #1 2 Advanced Dynamic Pricing and Discount Rules for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.7★ (123) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Quantity Plus Minus Button for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.4★ (30) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 B2BKing — Ultimate WooCommerce B2B and Wholesale Plugin — Wholesale Prices, Bulk Order Form & More 10K+ · 4.9★ (109) wp.org #6 ↑1 2 too low 5 Hide Shipping Method For WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.0★ (25) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 PI Conditional cart fee / Extra charge rule for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.9★ (38) wp.org #9 ↑1 3 too low 7 Custom Shipping Methods for WooCommerce – Create Weight based Shipping, Conditional Shipping, Table Rate Shipping and much more 3K+ · 4.8★ (18) wp.org #7 ↓1 8 Flat Rate Shipping Method for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.2★ (76) wp.org #10 ↑1 2 too low 9 PI Advanced Flat rate / Conditional shipping for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.9★ (58) wp.org #14 ↓1 5 too low 10 WPC Product Quantity for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.0★ (15) wp.org #5 5 too high 11 Shipping Zones by Drawing for WooCommerce 500+ · 4.1★ (24) wp.org #8 3 too high 12 MarketKing — Ultimate WooCommerce Multivendor Marketplace Solution 700+ · 5.0★ (19) wp.org #20 ↑1 8 too low 13 Variation Swatches for WooCommerce Stores 100+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #17 ↓3 4 too low 14 Floating Cart Product For WooCommerce 300+ · 4.3★ (7) wp.org #16 ↓1 2 too low 15 WC Sale Discord Notifications 100+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #18 ↓1 3 too low 16 PiWeb Conditional Discount / Bulk discounts for WooCommerce 100+ · 4.8★ (5) wp.org #19 ↓1 3 too low 17 Distance Rate Shipping For WooCommerce 300+ · 3.3★ (8) wp.org #11 ↓3 6 too high 18 Simple Tiered Pricing Table for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #15 ↑1 3 too high 19 Add multiple products to cart via url for Woocommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 ↓4 6 too high 20 PDF Password Protect 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 8 too high 21 Simple Podcasting 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓2 3 too low 22 Easy Shipping Rate for WooCommerce 20+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 CSS Classes For WooCommerce – customize the WooCommerce cart and checkout via CSS 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↓2 2 too high 24 TNT Conditional Logic Fields for Elementor Forms 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 2 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.