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← Rankings

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

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 “regions”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 3 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

WP Consent API shows at wp.org #8 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 200K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

CookieYes – Cookie Banner for Cookie Consent (Easy to setup GDPR/CCPA Compliant Cookie Notice) places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 3236 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1668) wp.org #1 2 Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #2 3 IP Location Block 10K+ · 4.5★ (35) wp.org #3 4 Redirection 2M+ · 4.4★ (703) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (759) wp.org #6 ↑3 1 too low 6 Price Based on Country for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.8★ (262) wp.org #7 ↑1 1 too low 7 Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433) wp.org #17 10 too low 8 FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410) wp.org #11 3 too low 9 MapGeo – Interactive Geo Maps 30K+ · 4.4★ (65) wp.org #10 1 too low 10 Easy Google Maps by Supsystic – Custom Markers, Clustering & Map Themes 20K+ · 4.6★ (251) wp.org #18 8 too low 11 CookieYes – Cookie Banner for Cookie Consent (Easy to setup GDPR/CCPA Compliant Cookie Notice) 1M+ · 4.8★ (3236) wp.org #24 13 too low 12 Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184) wp.org #13 1 too low 13 HTML5 Maps 4K+ · 4.6★ (45) wp.org #14 1 too low 14 WPConsent – Cookie Banner & Cookie Consent for Privacy Compliance (GDPR / CCPA / EU Compliance Cookie Notice) 200K+ · 4.8★ (84) wp.org #20 6 too low 15 IP2Location Redirection 7K+ · 4.3★ (43) wp.org #15 16 Regions for WP Job Manager 7K+ · 3.0★ (10) wp.org #4 12 too high 17 SureCookie – GDPR Cookie Consent Banner, Cookie Scanner & Script Blocking 70K+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #16 1 too high 18 Age Gate 40K+ · 4.6★ (64) wp.org #23 ↓2 5 too low 19 Kikote – Location Picker at Checkout & Google Address AutoFill Plugin for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (65) wp.org #19 ↓2 20 Flat Rate per State/Country/Region for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.3★ (35) wp.org #12 8 too high 21 Interactive US Map – Create Clickable & Customizable U.S. Maps 300+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #9 ↓3 12 too high 22 Mailgun for WordPress 80K+ · 3.8★ (49) wp.org #22 ↓4 23 WP Consent API 200K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 ↓1 15 too high 24 Mailster AmazonSES Integration 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #21 ↓2 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.