Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “rtcamp”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 2 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

Embed Google Drive shows at wp.org #15 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Radio Buttons for Taxonomies places #7 on merit, 5.0★ from 50 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Nginx Helper 200K+ · 4.4★ (31) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Log in with Google 6K+ · 4.6★ (17) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 rtMedia for WordPress, BuddyPress and bbPress 7K+ · 3.7★ (152) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Blogger To WordPress 3K+ · 4.2★ (26) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 AMP 300K+ · 3.8★ (367) wp.org #14 ↓1 9 too low 6 PWA 20K+ · 4.3★ (27) wp.org #10 4 too low 7 Radio Buttons for Taxonomies 20K+ · 5.0★ (50) wp.org #21 ↓1 14 too low 8 rtCarousel – Flexible Carousel & Slider Block for Images, Videos, Testimonials & More 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #1 7 too high 9 R rtSocial 30+ · 4.7★ (9) wp.org #11 2 too low 10 Transcoder 400+ · 3.6★ (8) wp.org #8 2 too high 11 GoDAM – Video Hosting for LMS & Online Courses 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 5 too high 12 Search with Google 70+ · 3.0★ (4) wp.org #7 5 too high 13 WP Menu Custom Fields 600+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 4 too high 14 Publishio – Build Pages & Posts with ChatGPT and Claude using MCP 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↑1 1 too high 15 rtCamp’s AI Provider for OpenRouter — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 1 too low 16 Mention Links 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 4 too high 17 ClassicFlare — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 18 Oh My Cache! — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓1 19 AI Provider for LM Studio — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓1 20 Trust.txt Manager 80+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓1 21 rtBiz 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too low 22 Shmart Payment Gateway for Easy Digital Downloads 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓1 2 too low 23 Automate Slack Invite Gravityforms 10+ · 2.3★ (3) wp.org #23 ↓1 24 Embed Google Drive 100+ · 2.0★ (1) wp.org #15 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.