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

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 “rental”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 of the top 20. 6 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

Property Hive Rental Yield Calculator shows at wp.org #6 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 400+ 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

Happyforms – Form Builder for WordPress: Drag & Drop Contact Forms, Surveys, Payments & Multipurpose Forms places #8 on merit, 4.4★ from 433 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 signals wp.org

Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #2 1 too low 2

Booking Calendar 40K+ · 4.8★ (657) wp.org #9 ↓4 6 too low 4

VikRentCar Car Rental Management System 4K+ · 4.8★ (30) wp.org #4 ↓2 5

Simply Schedule Appointments 50K+ · 5.0★ (155) wp.org #14 ↓1 9 too low 6

Booqable Rental Plugin 1K+ · 4.2★ (10) not PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #3 ↓2 3 too high 7

WP Booking System – Booking Calendar 10K+ · 4.9★ (344) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #12 ↓4 5 too low 8

Happyforms – Form Builder for WordPress: Drag & Drop Contact Forms, Surveys, Payments & Multipurpose Forms 20K+ · 4.4★ (433) wp.org #22 ↓6 14 too low 9

Easy Google Maps by Supsystic – Custom Markers, Clustering & Map Themes 20K+ · 4.6★ (251) wp.org #21 12 too low 10

MultiVendorX – WooCommerce Multivendor Marketplace AI Powered Solutions 2K+ · 4.8★ (432) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #17 7 too low 11

Vachr Short-Term Rental Reservations 30+ · 4.3★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #5 ↑16 6 too high 12

Easy Appointment Booking & Scheduling Plugin – Webba Booking Calendar 2K+ · 4.9★ (159) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #19 ↓5 7 too low 13

Easy Property Listings 5K+ · 4.7★ (112) not PHP-current wp.org #24 ↓6 11 too low 14

eaSYNC Booking – Hotels, Restaurants & Car Rentals 100+ · 4.1★ (17) thin reviews wp.org #16 ↓4 2 too low 15

Easy Booking – WooCommerce Booking & Reservation Plugin 4K+ · 4.7★ (63) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #23 ↓8 8 too low 16

BA Book Everything 10K+ · 4.2★ (20) thin reviews wp.org #20 4 too low 17

VikRentItems Flexible Rental Management System 600+ · 4.0★ (8) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #7 ↓3 10 too high 18

Tourfic – AI Powered Travel Booking, Hotel Booking & Car Rental 1K+ · 4.1★ (16) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #11 ↓2 7 too high 19

MotoPress Hotel Booking 10K+ · 3.7★ (65) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #18 ↓7 1 too high 20

Property Hive Rental Yield Calculator 400+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #6 14 too high 21

Twice Commerce – Easy Rental Booking System 300+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #10 ↓3 11 too high 22

Car Rental Manager – Online Vehicle Booking System 100+ · 5.0★ (1) heavy footprint thin reviews wp.org #8 ↓2 14 too high 23

Auto Login for Sakura Rental Server 20K+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #13 ↓3 10 too high 24

Property Hive Rental Affordability Calculator 400+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #15 ↑7 9 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.