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

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 “quantcast”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 5 of the top 18. 4 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

Audience Analytics – by Quantcast shows at wp.org #11 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 1K+ 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.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1463) not PHP-current wp.org #1 ↑2 2

Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433) wp.org #2 ↓1 3

Headers Security Advanced & HSTS WP 90K+ · 4.9★ (79) wp.org #3 ↓1 4

WPConsent – Cookie Banner & Cookie Consent for Privacy Compliance (GDPR / CCPA / EU Compliance Cookie Notice) 200K+ · 4.8★ (84) wp.org #4 5

AMP for WP – Accelerated Mobile Pages 70K+ · 4.4★ (1319) heavy footprint wp.org #8 3 too low 6

AMP WP – Google AMP For WordPress 600+ · 4.5★ (55) wp.org #5 1 too high 7

Quantcast Choice 2K+ · 3.8★ (5) closure risk thin reviewsstale but ranked wp.org #6 2 too high 9

CAPI Suite: Meta Pixel, Pinterest & TikTok for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #10 1 too low 10 A Analytics for WordPress — by Segment 300+ · 4.3★ (6) not PHP-currentclosure risk thin reviews wp.org #15 ↓1 5 too low 11

Project Adv Inserter 10+ · 0.0★ (0) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #7 4 too high 12 Q Quantcast Quantifier 100+ · 5.0★ (2) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too low 13

SimpliRoot – Live Chat, AI Bot, Lead Capture & Call Tracking 10+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #12 1 too high 14

PureGuard — Bot Protection & Performance — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #13 ↓1 1 too high 15

Otherboard 10+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #14 ↓1 1 too high 16 W WPX SEO Manager 10+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too low 17 W WP Grande Plugin 10+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #18 ↓1 1 too low 18

Audience Analytics – by Quantcast 1K+ · 3.0★ (2) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #11 7 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.