Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 product”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 4 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

Free Product Samples for WooCommerce – Try Before You Buy, Request Samples by Mail shows at wp.org #6 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 60+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.7★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) places #11 on merit, 4.7★ from 5231 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Product Import Export for WooCommerce – CSV Product Importer & Exporter 80K+ · 4.6★ (413) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 WPC Product Bundles for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.4★ (220) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Product Table & List Builder for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.9★ (254) wp.org #8 4 too low 5 Product Table for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.8★ (295) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Free Product Sample for WooCommerce 200+ · 3.6★ (34) wp.org #3 3 too high 7 Product Generator for WooCommerce 300+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #5 ↑1 2 too high 8 Zakeke Interactive Product Designer for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.7★ (131) wp.org #16 ↓2 8 too low 9 Product SKU Generator for WooCommerce 8K+ · 4.9★ (20) wp.org #11 ↓2 2 too low 10 AI Product Tools – Bulk Product Content Generator & AI Toolkit for WooCommerce 500+ · 4.8★ (16) wp.org #10 11 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #24 ↓1 13 too low 12 Min Max Step Quantity Limits Manager for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.9★ (51) wp.org #12 ↓1 13 Product Options and Price Calculation Formulas for WooCommerce – Uni CPO 1K+ · 4.6★ (79) wp.org #19 6 too low 14 Product Code for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.9★ (30) wp.org #22 8 too low 15 Product Size Charts Plugin for WooCommerce 9K+ · 4.3★ (39) wp.org #15 ↑1 16 Sizor Product Size Chart For WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.3★ (32) wp.org #13 ↓1 3 too high 17 YITH WooCommerce Ajax Product Filter 70K+ · 3.5★ (98) wp.org #18 1 too low 18 Content Egg – Affiliate Product Importer & Price Comparison 10K+ · 3.9★ (56) wp.org #21 3 too low 19 Delete All Products for WooCommerce 4K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #17 2 too high 20 Extra Fees for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.3★ (42) wp.org #23 ↑1 3 too low 21 Product Option Kit – Product Options & Addons for WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #9 ↑6 12 too high 22 WPC Product Quantity for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.0★ (15) wp.org #14 ↓1 8 too high 23 Free Product Samples for WooCommerce – Try Before You Buy, Request Samples by Mail 60+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #6 ↓1 17 too high 24 Simple Product Sample 50+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #20 4 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.