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

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 “recycle”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 3 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

PaceQuill Post Scheduler shows at wp.org #8 but places #13 on merit, a gap of 5 places. Its 30+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Accordion FAQ – Compatible With All Page Builder (Elementor, Gutenberg) places #5 on merit, 4.6★ from 676 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 LWS Cleaner 20K+ · 4.8★ (16) wp.org #1 2 PDF Ink Lite – Free PDF Watermark & Password Protection 2K+ · 4.6★ (51) wp.org #2 3 Go Fetch Jobs (for WP Job Manager) 600+ · 4.5★ (28) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Event Tickets with Ticket Scanner 1K+ · 4.8★ (24) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Accordion FAQ – Compatible With All Page Builder (Elementor, Gutenberg) 30K+ · 4.6★ (676) wp.org #22 ↓3 17 too low 6 Raffle Ticket Generator – Woocommerce 100+ · 4.3★ (9) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 DevDome Media Cleaner: Remove Unused Images & Media Library Cleanup 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #3 4 too high 8 Bit CRM: Sales CRM Manage Lead, Contact, Deal, Invoice, Client Portal & Collect Payment 300+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 OpenStation – Admin Dashboard Notes, Custom Dashboard, AI Assistant & PWA 1K+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #21 ↓3 12 too low 10 Social Post Flow – Social Media Automation, Scheduling, Scheduler, Posting & Auto Post 200+ · 4.2★ (10) wp.org #9 1 too high 11 ClearPost – AI Auto Blogging & SEO Agent 80+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #11 ↑1 12 WeRePack – Reuse Packaging for WooCommerce 10+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #12 ↓1 13 PaceQuill Post Scheduler 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 5 too high 14 Kistenstein Club Document Portal 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 4 too high 15 ARS Affiliate Page Plugin 80+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 2 too high 16 Unkfrank Media Library Audit — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 2 too high 17 ModuleFest Media Library Manager — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 2 too high 18 R RIICT Intranet — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 2 too high 19 MediaQuorix – Media Library Health Manager — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 2 too high 20 ManageGlut – Management System Builder for School, CRM, POS & Inventory — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓3 2 too high 21 Post Flow — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓3 2 too high 22 PlanBatch — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓3 2 too high 23 Yac Object Cache 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↓3 24 Media Wipe 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓3

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.