Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “religious”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

Events Calendar by FooEvents shows at wp.org #8 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 4K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin wp.org
1 GeoDirectory – WP Business Directory Plugin and Classified Listings Directory 10K+ · 4.8★ (716) wp.org #2 ↓1 1 too low 2 Content Views – Post Grid & Filter (Shortcode, Blocks, Elementor Widgets) 100K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #5 3 too low 3 WP Maps – Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, Mapbox, Store Locator with Search, Filters & Listings 60K+ · 4.3★ (122) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 MP3 Audio Player – Music Player, Podcast Player & Radio by Sonaar 20K+ · 4.8★ (302) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 StreamCast – bring live radio to your site with a sleek player 1K+ · 4.9★ (7) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 SureDonation – Donation Forms, Fundraising Campaigns & Donor Management 4K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #1 ↑2 5 too high 7 VS Website Closed 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 too high 8 Divine Astro 100+ · 4.6★ (11) wp.org #12 ↑2 4 too low 9 S Slick Google Map 50+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #9 10 Muslim Prayer Time BD – Prayer Reminder for Bangladesh 200+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #17 ↑1 7 too low 11 Ticketmeo – Sell Tickets – Event Ticketing 40+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 ↑2 1 too high 12 VentoCalendar 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 ↓3 1 too low 13 Easy Map – Store Locator, OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Mapbox 50+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 ↑1 1 too low 14 Remita Woocommerce Payment Plugin 80+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 ↑1 1 too low 15 Events Calendar by FooEvents 4K+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #8 7 too high 16 CharityGlow — Donations & Fundraising 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 ↓10 7 too low 17 Holy Day Off 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 6 too high 18 FeastBell – Feast & Event Calendar 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↑3 2 too high 19 Virtual Candles – Memorial Light Display 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↑1 20 Donation QR Block 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↑2 21 Unstoppable Newsletters 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓4 22 Unstoppable Voting, Polls & Elections 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↑1 23 FundCollector – Donations Plugin and Fundraising Platform for WordPress — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Growfund – Ultimate Donation & Crowdfunding Solution 100+ · 1.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↑3 6 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.