Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “sample data”

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 “sample data”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

ST Product Review Generator shows at wp.org #10 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 80+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Appointment Hour Booking – Booking Calendar places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 524 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #1 2 Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296) wp.org #2 3 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 Essential Real Estate 7K+ · 4.3★ (52) wp.org #3 ↑3 1 too high 5 Product Import Export for WooCommerce – CSV Product Importer & Exporter 80K+ · 4.6★ (413) wp.org #5 ↓1 6 MC4WP: Mailchimp for WordPress 1M+ · 4.8★ (1497) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 Widget Importer & Exporter 200K+ · 4.7★ (117) wp.org #7 8 Index WP MySQL For Speed 50K+ · 4.8★ (99) wp.org #6 ↑4 2 too high 9 BetterDocs – AI Documentation, Knowledge Base, MCP Server, Docs, Wikis, FAQ & Chatbot 30K+ · 4.8★ (515) wp.org #14 ↓9 5 too low 10 Appointment Hour Booking – Booking Calendar 10K+ · 4.9★ (524) wp.org #20 10 too low 11 WP-Sweep 100K+ · 4.7★ (138) wp.org #16 5 too low 12 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #17 5 too low 13 R Really Simple CSV Importer 40K+ · 4.9★ (107) wp.org #21 ↓1 8 too low 14 Export and Import Users and Customers 50K+ · 4.8★ (442) wp.org #23 ↓1 9 too low 15 Delete All Products for WooCommerce 4K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #8 7 too high 16 CF7 Mate – Contact Form 7 Styler, Multi-Step Forms & Conditional Logic 20K+ · 3.9★ (46) wp.org #11 5 too high 17 WP Maps – Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, Mapbox, Store Locator with Search, Filters & Listings 60K+ · 4.3★ (122) wp.org #18 1 too low 18 CP Multi View Events Calendar 900+ · 4.3★ (46) wp.org #22 ↑1 4 too low 19 CSV Importer Plus for ACF 400+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #24 5 too low 20 DesignSetGo 8K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #15 5 too high 21 WPSyncSheets For WPForms – Google Sheets Connector for WPForms & Real‑Time Data Export 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 8 too high 22 ST Product Review Generator 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 ↑2 12 too high 23 Simple Product Sample 50+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #12 ↓1 11 too high 24 WIP Custom Login 700+ · 3.0★ (1) wp.org #19 5 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.