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

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 “reactive”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20.

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

WP Cron Pixie shows at wp.org #7 but places #13 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 10+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Assets manager, dequeue scripts, dequeue styles for WordPress 2K+ · 4.3★ (53) wp.org #1 2 Caddy – WooCommerce Side Cart & Free Shipping Bar 3K+ · 3.9★ (20) wp.org #2 3 VigIA – AI Visibility, Analytics & Control 2K+ · 5.0★ (19) wp.org #8 5 too low 4 Contact Form 7 Connector 5K+ · 4.3★ (16) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Remoji – Post/Comment Reaction and Enhancement 300+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Fast Fuzzy Search – WordPress & WooCommerce Live Search 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Smart Cycle Discounts – AI Dynamic Pricing & Scheduled Sales for WooCommerce 20+ · 4.9★ (10) wp.org #20 ↑3 13 too low 8 rtCarousel – Flexible Carousel & Slider Block for Images, Videos, Testimonials & More 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 5 too high 9 AnWP Sports Leagues – Basketball, Ice Hockey, Handball, Rugby & More 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #10 1 too low 10 EntryDashboard – Database Addon & Sync for WPForms, CF7, Elementor & More 50+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #14 4 too low 11 HyperPress | Hypermedia for WordPress (HTMX or Datastar) 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 Groundworx Carousel 90+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #12 13 WP Cron Pixie 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 6 too high 14 H Hybrid Cache Maintenance & CSS Healer for Elementor 60+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 1 too high 15 Dynamic Pricing & Discount Rules for WooCommerce 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 ↓1 7 too low 16 Block Accessibility Checks 90+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 5 too high 17 WPShift Companion 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 2 too high 18 Live Chat by User.com 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 ↓1 5 too low 19 Tiny 2FA + Brute Force Protection 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 2 too high 20 Fix API URL 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 2 too high 21 Tropipay Gateway for WooCommerce 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 2 too high 22 Addifect — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 6 too high 23 SecuSeek – Web Security Scanner & Vulnerability Assessment 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too high 24 NituLabs AI Content Fixer – Smart AI to Boost Your Content Quality — · 5.0★ (1) 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.