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

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 “radar”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 2 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

Radar LinkHawk shows at wp.org #3 but places #13 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 30+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor places #3 on merit, 4.8★ from 612 reviews, but shows at wp.org #8. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #4 ↑1 3 too low 2 WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway 700K+ · 3.1★ (237) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #8 ↓2 5 too low 4 Visualizer – Tables & Charts Manager with Built-in AI Generator 20K+ · 4.4★ (225) wp.org #6 ↑1 2 too low 5 M Chart 3K+ · 4.9★ (28) wp.org #5 ↓1 6 HappyAddons for Elementor – 160 Elementor Widgets, GSAP Animations & Templates 400K+ · 4.8★ (489) wp.org #7 ↑1 1 too low 7 wpDataTables – WordPress Data Table, Dynamic Tables & Table Charts Plugin 60K+ · 4.5★ (449) wp.org #12 ↓1 5 too low 8 Location Weather – WordPress Weather Forecast, Air Quality & Weather Widget 10K+ · 4.5★ (103) wp.org #9 1 too low 9 PRM Dupe Radar 40+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #2 ↑1 7 too high 10 TrueRanker 400+ · 4.6★ (9) wp.org #10 11 SQL Chart Builder 500+ · 3.9★ (22) wp.org #13 2 too low 12 Stripe Payment Forms by WP Full Pay – Accept Credit Card Payments, Donations & Subscriptions 8K+ · 4.2★ (26) wp.org #23 11 too low 13 Radar LinkHawk 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #3 ↓1 10 too high 14 AI Infographic Maker 600+ · 4.4★ (17) wp.org #21 7 too low 15 Graphina – Charts and Graphs For Elementor 9K+ · 4.1★ (16) wp.org #20 5 too low 16 Autocomplete Radar Address — · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #14 2 too high 17 iChart – Easy Charts and Graphs 300+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #15 2 too high 18 SKT Addons for Elementor 1K+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #16 2 too high 19 Ninja Charts – Interactive Charts and Graphs 3K+ · 3.0★ (6) wp.org #17 2 too high 20 Advanced Chart for Elementor 90+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 ↑1 9 too high 21 UltraAddons for Elementor 600+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #19 2 too high 22 Health Radar 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 23 DevDome Bot Protection: Bot Blocker and AI Crawler Control 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 5 too high 24 Geo-Target Dragon Radar 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24

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.