wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “rate posts”

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 “rate posts”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

Shipping Live rates for Canada Post for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #14 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 400+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 14387 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Rate My Post – Star Rating Plugin by FeedbackWP 20K+ · 4.7★ (159) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #1 2

Table Rate Shipping for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.5★ (74) wp.org #2 3

kk Star Ratings – Rate Post & Collect User Feedbacks 70K+ · 3.9★ (171) wp.org #3 1 too high 5

Weight Based Shipping Table Rate for WooCommerce – Flexible Shipping 100K+ · 4.9★ (706) wp.org #7 2 too low 6

SchedulePress – Auto Post & Publish, Auto Social Share, Schedule Posts with Editorial Calendar & Missed Schedule Post Publisher 10K+ · 4.6★ (201) wp.org #8 1 too low 8

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #15 ↑1 6 too low 10

Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528) wp.org #12 ↓3 2 too low 11

WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209) wp.org #17 ↓2 6 too low 12

Flat Rate Shipping Method for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.2★ (76) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #6 6 too high 13

Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #23 ↓3 10 too low 14

Shipping Live Rates for USPS for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.7★ (30) wp.org #10 ↑1 4 too high 15

Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) not PHP-current wp.org #21 6 too low 16

WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (758) wp.org #20 4 too low 17

Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #24 7 too low 18

WowShipping – Table Rate & Weight Based Shipping 700+ · 5.0★ (25) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #11 7 too high 19

Posts Table with Search & Sort 3K+ · 4.6★ (19) thin reviews wp.org #13 ↓1 6 too high 20

Shipping Live Rates for FedEx for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.4★ (27) wp.org #16 ↓2 4 too high 21

Exchange Rates 800+ · 4.2★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #19 ↓1 2 too high 22

Shipping Live rates for Australia Post for WooCommerce 400+ · 4.6★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #22 23

Shipping Live rates for Canada Post for WooCommerce 400+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #14 ↓1 9 too high 24

Exchange Rates Widget 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #18 ↓1 6 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.