Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “reciprocal”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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 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

RSVP Manager shows at wp.org #12 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 20+ installs carry it up the search order; its 1.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

P

Buried gem

Posts 2 Posts places #3 on merit, 4.8★ from 101 reviews, but shows at wp.org #10. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 LexonRank: AI Link Building, Free Backlinks, GEO & SEO Automation 800+ · 4.1★ (31) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 MB Relationships 1K+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 P Posts 2 Posts 9K+ · 4.8★ (101) wp.org #10 ↓1 7 too low 4 Free Backlinks & Guest Post Exchange – Consolety 40+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #15 ↓1 11 too low 5 Tranzly™ – AI Translation & Multilingual 7K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 MoreSharesForYou – WordPress Sharing Community 10+ · 4.5★ (45) wp.org #24 ↓1 18 too low 7 Emma Webb’s Reciprocal Links — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #4 3 too high 8 Linktrade: Backlink Monitor & Reciprocal Link Checker 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #5 3 too high 9 Translate WordPress Without Yearly Fees – Visual Editor & SEO URLs — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 WDOnline Multilingual Pages — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 Loyalty Links — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 ↓1 3 too high 12 Free Upsell & Cross-Sell Editor for WooCommerce – Bulk, Variations & Discounts — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 ↓1 3 too high 13 REDORZO – Multilingual Translation & SEO — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 ↓1 2 too high 14 Ariadne Related Posts – Smart Content Recommendations — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↓2 1 too high 15 Zinn® Translate — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↓2 1 too high 16 KAF AI – SEO Automation 90+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↓1 17 NextPlus Banner — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓1 1 too low 18 Neutrope Translate Ease — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too low 19 KOZ Static Translate — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too low 20 Deepglot — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓1 1 too low 21 CitedSEO 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too high 22 Unseat Connector — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓1 23 DeMomentSomTres Language 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓1 24 RSVP Manager 20+ · 1.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↑1 12 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.