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

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 “salary”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

HR Management Lite shows at wp.org #2 but places #10 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.5★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

ERP: Complete HR, Accounting & CRM Suite Built for WooCommerce places #3 on merit, 4.4★ from 149 reviews, but shows at wp.org #8. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Simple Job Board 10K+ · 4.7★ (133) wp.org #1 2 WP Job Portal – AI-Powered Recruitment System for Company or Job Board website 8K+ · 4.3★ (32) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 ERP: Complete HR, Accounting & CRM Suite Built for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.4★ (149) wp.org #8 ↑1 5 too low 4 Clock In Portal- Staff & Attendance Management 200+ · 3.9★ (11) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Personio Integration Light 200+ · 4.9★ (7) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 MPG – Multiple Page Generator, Bulk Landing Pages & Programmatic SEO 2K+ · 3.9★ (27) wp.org #10 ↓2 4 too low 7 Job Manager & Career – Manage job board listings, and recruitments 1K+ · 4.7★ (7) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 Metorik – Reports & Email Automation for WooCommerce 9K+ · 5.0★ (20) wp.org #13 5 too low 9 Custom Field For WP Job Manager 800+ · 3.4★ (5) wp.org #3 6 too high 10 HR Management Lite 200+ · 3.5★ (2) wp.org #2 8 too high 11 Rixden Career Manager 10+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #20 9 too low 12 All Users Filter 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #11 1 too high 13 Blockenberg — 645 Advanced Gutenberg Blocks, 683 Templates and AI Agent for WordPress Block Editor 1K+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #12 1 too high 14 Jobus – Job Board, Recruitment & Hiring Platform 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 ↑1 5 too high 15 Schema Blocks 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 ↑1 7 too low 16 Alpha Insights – Advanced Analytics, Sales Reporting & COGS for WooCommerce 50+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 1 too high 17 Property Hive Rental Affordability Calculator 400+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↓1 18 Employee Verification & Document Authentication 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 4 too high 19 Dynamic Content for WP Job Manager & Elementor 70+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓1 20 Block & Optimize PDFs – PDF.dk 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↑1 4 too high 21 Jobs Portal – Job & Career Manager 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓1 2 too low 22 Pay Check Mate 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 Post Submissions for Elementor Forms 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 OTYS Plugin 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↑1 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.