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← Rankings

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

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 tool”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 16 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Editorial Rating – Product Review & Rating System shows at wp.org #6 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.4★ average from 13 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 6053 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #1 2 Rate My Post – Star Rating Plugin by FeedbackWP 20K+ · 4.7★ (159) wp.org #3 ↑2 1 too low 3 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #5 ↓2 2 too low 4 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #10 6 too low 5 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8708) wp.org #11 4 too low 8 Customer Reviews for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (1539) wp.org #14 6 too low 9 GD Rating System 1K+ · 4.3★ (24) wp.org #4 5 too high 10 Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks 1M+ · 4.7★ (1872) wp.org #12 ↑1 2 too low 11 Hostinger Tools 3M+ · 3.5★ (40) wp.org #2 9 too high 12 Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN 1M+ · 4.8★ (6053) wp.org #19 ↑2 7 too low 13 Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397) wp.org #16 ↑1 3 too low 14 Easy MCP AI – Connect Claude to WordPress: MCP Server for ChatGPT & AI Agents 30K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #7 ↑5 7 too high 15 Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #18 3 too low 16 Accessibility Tools & Alt Text Finder 3K+ · 4.9★ (69) wp.org #13 ↑2 3 too high 17 Site Reviews 60K+ · 4.9★ (376) wp.org #21 ↑1 4 too low 18 Comments – wpDiscuz 60K+ · 4.7★ (581) wp.org #23 5 too low 19 Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517) wp.org #24 5 too low 20 YASR – Yet Another Star Rating Plugin for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (323) wp.org #22 ↑2 2 too low 21 Editorial Rating – Product Review & Rating System 200+ · 4.4★ (13) wp.org #6 ↑1 15 too high 22 Hosting Benchmark tool 4K+ · 4.7★ (33) wp.org #15 ↑1 7 too high 23 Five-Star Ratings Shortcode 500+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #20 3 too high 24 Star Rating Field For Contact Form 7 800+ · 2.3★ (3) wp.org #17 ↑2 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.