wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “rating plugin”

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 “rating plugin”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 5 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

GD Rating System shows at wp.org #8 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 24 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 #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 14387 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #1 2

UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #2 3

Business Directory Plugin – Easy Listing & Member Directories for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (504) wp.org #5 ↑1 2 too low 4

Rate My Post – Star Rating Plugin by FeedbackWP 20K+ · 4.7★ (159) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #3 1 too high 5

Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #7 ↑1 2 too low 6

Reviews and Rating – Google Reviews 20K+ · 4.9★ (184) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #4 2 too high 7

All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) not PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too high 8

Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #11 3 too low 9

GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #9 10

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #20 ↑1 10 too low 11

Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4358) wp.org #18 ↓5 7 too low 12

kk Star Ratings – Rate Post & Collect User Feedbacks 70K+ · 3.9★ (171) wp.org #10 2 too high 13

YASR – Yet Another Star Rating Plugin for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (323) wp.org #16 3 too low 14

GeoDirectory – WP Business Directory Plugin and Classified Listings Directory 10K+ · 4.8★ (716) heavy footprint wp.org #17 ↑2 3 too low 15

Easy Updates Manager 300K+ · 4.8★ (726) wp.org #22 7 too low 16

GD Rating System 1K+ · 4.3★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #8 ↓1 8 too high 17

Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157) wp.org #13 ↑7 4 too high 18

wpDataTables – WordPress Data Table, Dynamic Tables & Table Charts Plugin 60K+ · 4.5★ (449) wp.org #23 5 too low 19

WP Rollback – Rollback Plugins and Themes 200K+ · 4.9★ (215) wp.org #24 5 too low 20

Stars Rating 1K+ · 4.7★ (23) thin reviews wp.org #12 8 too high 21

Like Button Rating ♥ LikeBtn 3K+ · 4.4★ (273) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #19 ↓1 2 too high 22

Editorial Rating – Product Review & Rating System 200+ · 4.4★ (13) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #14 8 too high 23

WP Ultimate Review 60K+ · 3.4★ (17) thin reviews wp.org #15 ↑2 8 too high 24

Comments Ratings 2K+ · 4.2★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #21 3 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.