Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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

Sandbox Payment Gateway for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #2 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 300+ 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

Simple Shopping Cart places #11 on merit, 4.6★ from 215 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 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #1 2 Database Addon for Contact Form 7 – CFDB7 600K+ · 5.0★ (1875) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) wp.org #3 4 WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (195) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Real Cookie Banner: GDPR & ePrivacy Cookie Consent 100K+ · 4.9★ (492) wp.org #8 ↑5 3 too low 6 Mercado Pago payments for WooCommerce 100K+ · 3.9★ (693) wp.org #6 ↑3 7 Real Media Library: Media Library Folder & File Manager 100K+ · 4.8★ (297) wp.org #11 ↓4 4 too low 8 Real Custom Post Order: Create a custom order for your content 8K+ · 4.8★ (42) wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too high 9 Database Addon For WPForms ( wpforms entries ) – WPFormsDB 20K+ · 5.0★ (131) wp.org #15 6 too low 10 Payment Button for PayPal 4K+ · 4.5★ (40) wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too high 11 Simple Shopping Cart 10K+ · 4.6★ (215) wp.org #20 9 too low 12 NinjaScanner – Virus & Malware scan 40K+ · 4.0★ (36) wp.org #10 ↑1 2 too high 13 Dynamic Visibility for Elementor 50K+ · 4.6★ (89) wp.org #14 1 too low 14 Easy PayPal & Stripe Buy Now Button 10K+ · 4.5★ (24) wp.org #16 ↑1 2 too low 15 Accept Donations with PayPal & Stripe 10K+ · 3.8★ (23) wp.org #17 ↓1 2 too low 16 Contact Form 7 – PayPal & Stripe Add-on 7K+ · 4.2★ (125) wp.org #23 7 too low 17 Secure Gateway for Authorize.net and WooCommerce by Pledged Plugins 10K+ · 4.9★ (34) wp.org #22 ↑2 5 too low 18 Montonio for WooCommerce 10K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #12 ↓2 6 too high 19 Sandbox Payment Gateway for WooCommerce 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 17 too high 20 افزونه پرداخت امن زرین‌پال برای ووکامرس (ZarinPal for WooCommerce) 60K+ · 3.5★ (13) wp.org #13 ↓1 7 too high 21 NOWPayments for WooCommerce – Crypto Payment Gateway 3K+ · 4.1★ (16) wp.org #18 3 too high 22 Real Thumbnail Generator: Efficient regeneration of thumbnails in all sizes 1K+ · 3.7★ (15) wp.org #19 3 too high 23 Checkout for PayPal 500+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #24 ↓2 1 too low 24 GoCardless for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↑1 3 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.