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

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 “renewals”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 7 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

Flexible Subscriptions shows at wp.org #5 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.6★ average from 9 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP Encryption: Easy HTTPS / SSL & Free SSL certificate, HTTPS redirect places #6 on merit, 4.9★ from 1146 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway 700K+ · 3.1★ (237) wp.org #1 2 FluentCart A New Era of eCommerce – Faster, Lighter, and Simpler 9K+ · 4.5★ (46) wp.org #2 ↑3 3 Subscriptions for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.5★ (180) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 Auto-Install Free SSL – Generate & Install Free SSL Certificates 8K+ · 4.9★ (405) wp.org #8 ↓2 4 too low 5 Fonts Plugin | Google Fonts, Adobe Fonts & Upload Fonts 200K+ · 5.0★ (1221) wp.org #9 ↑1 4 too low 6 WP Encryption: Easy HTTPS / SSL & Free SSL certificate, HTTPS redirect 50K+ · 4.9★ (1146) wp.org #19 ↓1 13 too low 7 Paystack WooCommerce Payment Gateway 20K+ · 4.5★ (25) wp.org #4 3 too high 8 UPI QR Code Payment Gateway for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.8★ (256) wp.org #10 ↑2 2 too low 9 License Manager for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.6★ (147) wp.org #13 4 too low 10 Subscriptions for WooCommerce with Stripe Recurring Payments 1K+ · 4.9★ (25) wp.org #6 ↓3 4 too high 11 Milo Subscriptions – Subscriptions for WooCommerce and Recurring Payments 200+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #7 ↑1 4 too high 12 MembershipWorks – Membership, Events & Directory 2K+ · 4.4★ (37) wp.org #15 3 too low 13 Stripe Payment Forms by WP Simple Pay – Accept Credit Card Payments + Subscriptions with Stripe 8K+ · 4.4★ (117) wp.org #20 7 too low 14 Flexible Subscriptions 1K+ · 4.6★ (9) wp.org #5 ↑2 9 too high 15 Coupon Affiliates – Affiliate Plugin for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.9★ (77) wp.org #24 ↓5 9 too low 16 Sublium Subscriptions – Subscriptions for WooCommerce – Recurring Payments, Subscription Plans & Installments 700+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #11 ↓2 5 too high 17 StoreEngine — Complete eCommerce Solution with Memberships, Licensing, Affiliates & More 700+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #18 ↑6 1 too low 18 Metorik – Reports & Email Automation for WooCommerce 9K+ · 5.0★ (20) wp.org #16 2 too high 19 Simple Points and Rewards for WooCommerce – Create a Loyalty Program 400+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #12 ↓1 7 too high 20 Subscriptions for WooCommerce Recurring Payments with Membership Content Restriction 500+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #14 6 too high 21 Payment Gateway for PayPal Pro, PayPal Checkout & Subscriptions for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.1★ (9) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 License For Envato 9K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 5 too high 23 SUBRE – Product Subscription for WooCommerce – Recurring Payments 200+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #23 24 Pronamic Pay with Mollie for Gravity Forms 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #21 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.