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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “review plugin”

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 “review plugin”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 of the top 20. 5 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 Ultimate Review shows at wp.org #4 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 60K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.4★ average from 17 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 397 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 Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #1 2 Customer Reviews for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (1539) wp.org #2 3 Rich Showcase for Google Reviews 100K+ · 4.9★ (1623) wp.org #3 ↑3 4 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Site Reviews 60K+ · 4.9★ (376) wp.org #6 ↓2 1 too low 6 Business Directory Plugin – Easy Listing & Member Directories for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (504) wp.org #8 ↑3 2 too low 7 Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #12 ↑7 5 too low 8 BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) wp.org #7 ↑3 1 too high 9 Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #14 ↑4 5 too low 10 WP Google Review Slider 30K+ · 4.9★ (373) wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too high 11 Reviews and Rating – Google Reviews 20K+ · 4.9★ (184) wp.org #10 ↓3 1 too high 12 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #19 7 too low 13 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #15 ↓2 2 too low 14 Widgets for Airbnb Reviews 6K+ · 4.6★ (60) wp.org #11 ↑5 3 too high 15 WP Tripadvisor Review Widgets 20K+ · 4.1★ (116) wp.org #16 ↓2 1 too low 16 WP Ultimate Review 60K+ · 3.4★ (17) wp.org #4 ↓1 12 too high 17 Widgets for Booking.com Reviews 9K+ · 4.9★ (65) wp.org #17 ↓8 18 WP TripAdvisor Review Slider 8K+ · 4.8★ (135) wp.org #20 ↑1 2 too low 19 GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) wp.org #18 ↓3 1 too high 20 WiserReview Product Reviews for WooCommerce 900+ · 5.0★ (34) wp.org #13 ↑7 7 too high 21 Payment Plugins for PayPal WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (127) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 Plugin Check (PCP) 10K+ · 4.5★ (36) wp.org #21 ↑2 1 too high 23 Business Reviews – build trust with real customer feedback 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↓1 24 LearnPress – Course Review 20K+ · 2.5★ (8) wp.org #24

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.