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

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 “sage”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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.

S

Ranked above its merit

SagePay Form Gateway for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #7 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 90+ installs carry it up the search order; its 1.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Calculated Fields Form – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact, Payment, Quote, Quiz & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (973) wp.org #1 2 Payment forms, Buy now buttons, and Invoicing System | GetPaid 5K+ · 4.5★ (46) wp.org #2 3 Contact Form to Any API 8K+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 CP Contact Form with PayPal 800+ · 3.8★ (65) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Contact Form Email 8K+ · 4.3★ (102) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 Trendly AI Post – AI Content Generator, ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Google News Auto Blog 50+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #12 6 too low 7 wallee 400+ · 2.7★ (9) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 Sage Auto Upload Images 40+ · 2.5★ (2) wp.org #3 5 too high 9 Intellinez Teams View for Elementor — · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #14 5 too low 10 Sync Sage 100 — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 1 too high 11 Kodlo Product Gallery for Elementor 40+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 4 too low 12 Skillmerc Sync for Sage Accounting — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 2 too high 13 Opayo Form Payment Gateway for Gravity Forms 80+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 14 Vartable for WooCommerce 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 3 too high 15 WordPress Store Locator AI powered – Elementor – Fast loading – Local SEO — · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24 9 too low 16 Opayo Direct Gateway for Gravity Forms 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 17 ZM Labs Accounting Export for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 2 too low 18 Writing Tools for the Block Editor — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 2 too low 19 Pin CTA 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 2 too low 20 Comptabilité et Export FEC for WooCommerce — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 3 too high 21 Swatchline – Variation Swatches for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 C Cozy Admin Theme — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 WeArePlanet 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 5 too high 24 S SagePay Form Gateway for WooCommerce 90+ · 1.0★ (2) wp.org #7 17 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.