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← Rankings

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

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 “scarcity”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20.

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Store One – BOGO, Sales Notification, Sticky Add to Cart & Buy Now for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #12 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 600+ 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 HurryTimer – An Scarcity and Urgency Countdown Timer for WordPress & WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.8★ (170) wp.org #1 2 Finale Lite – Sales Countdown Timer & Discount for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.7★ (151) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too low 3 Popup Builder & Popup Maker for WordPress – OptinMonster Email Marketing and Lead Generation 1M+ · 4.3★ (821) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 My Sticky Bar – Floating Notification Bar & Sticky Header (formerly myStickymenu) 100K+ · 4.9★ (1199) wp.org #7 ↓1 3 too low 5 Evergreen Countdown Timer 2K+ · 3.6★ (14) wp.org #2 3 too high 6 YITH WooCommerce Badge Management 10K+ · 2.9★ (93) wp.org #6 ↑1 7 Better Usability for WooCommerce 700+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #9 ↑2 2 too low 8 WPC Added To Cart Notification for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.9★ (9) wp.org #11 ↑1 3 too low 9 Product Labels, Quick View, Buy Now, Pre-Orders, Frequently Bought Together & More for WooCommerce – Merchant 9K+ · 4.2★ (11) wp.org #13 ↑1 4 too low 10 WPC Badge Management for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #10 11 Product Time Countdown for WooCommerce 300+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #15 4 too low 12 WPC Smart Notifications for WooCommerce 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 7 too high 13 wiseCampaign – WooCommerce Flash Sale, Countdown Timer, Discount Rules & Sales Notification 40+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #14 ↑3 1 too low 14 WinRocket Raffle and Giveaway Campaigns for WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #23 ↑1 9 too low 15 WPC Countdown Timer for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #8 ↑1 7 too high 16 StoreGrowth – Upsell, BOGO, Quick View, Direct Checkout & Side Cart for WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #17 ↑1 1 too low 17 Floating Awesome Button (Sticky Button, Popup, Toast) & 200+ Website Custom Interactive Element 700+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #19 ↑1 2 too low 18 Codocraft Smart Notify – Notification Bar, Countdown Timer & Image Banner 10+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #21 ↑2 3 too low 19 Dynamic Price Change for WooCommerce — · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24 5 too low 20 Store One – BOGO, Sales Notification, Sticky Add to Cart & Buy Now for WooCommerce 600+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↑1 8 too high 21 YayBoost – Sales Booster for WooCommerce 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↑1 1 too high 22 Amitry Product & Category Slider for WooCommerce 100+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #18 ↑1 4 too high 23 Elfsight Blocks 3K+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #16 7 too high 24 Elfsight Blocks for Elementor — 80+ Widgets 2K+ · 1.0★ (2) wp.org #22 2 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.