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

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 “repeating”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Eventward shows at wp.org #11 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 400+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Product Addons for Woocommerce – Product Options with Custom Fields places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 474 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 Better Search Replace 1M+ · 4.3★ (546) wp.org #1 2 Slider, Gallery, and Carousel by MetaSlider – Image Slider, Video Slider 500K+ · 4.6★ (743) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 FooGallery Photo Gallery : Image, Video & Masonry Galleries 100K+ · 4.8★ (995) wp.org #7 ↓3 3 too low 5 EventON – Events Calendar 6K+ · 4.1★ (44) wp.org #2 3 too high 6 Event Genius – Event Calendar, Event Registration, and Attendee Management 600+ · 4.8★ (17) wp.org #3 3 too high 7 WP Database Backup – Unlimited Database & Files Backup by Backup for WP 20K+ · 4.5★ (102) wp.org #9 ↓1 2 too low 8 HurryTimer – An Scarcity and Urgency Countdown Timer for WordPress & WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.8★ (170) wp.org #14 6 too low 9 LoftLoader 70K+ · 4.5★ (33) wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too high 10 SQLite Object Cache 10K+ · 5.0★ (51) wp.org #13 ↓3 3 too low 11 Product Addons for Woocommerce – Product Options with Custom Fields 30K+ · 4.9★ (474) wp.org #22 11 too low 12 Event Organiser 20K+ · 4.6★ (140) wp.org #10 ↑7 2 too high 13 Simple Google Calendar Outlook Events Widget 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #5 8 too high 14 Event Booking Manager for WooCommerce – Sell Tickets, Event Registration, RSVP & Event Calendar 7K+ · 4.5★ (167) wp.org #12 ↓3 2 too high 15 Admin Page Spider 1K+ · 4.8★ (22) wp.org #16 ↓5 1 too low 16 CMB2 300K+ · 5.0★ (91) wp.org #20 ↓2 4 too low 17 Order Status History for WooCommerce 900+ · 5.0★ (14) wp.org #19 ↓6 2 too low 18 Tockify Events Calendar 2K+ · 4.5★ (20) wp.org #15 ↓3 3 too high 19 Import WP – CSV & XML Import Export for WordPress 4K+ · 4.4★ (25) wp.org #17 ↓2 2 too high 20 Uji Countdown 4K+ · 3.2★ (54) wp.org #21 ↓2 1 too low 21 Easy Duplicate Woo Order 1K+ · 4.7★ (21) wp.org #24 ↓4 3 too low 22 Eventward 400+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #11 ↑5 11 too high 23 Repeater Fields for WPForms 400+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #23 ↓2 24 Repeater for Contact Form 7 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 ↓4 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.