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

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 “schedule”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20. 3 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

Missed Schedule Post Publisher shows at wp.org #5 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 6K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

LiteSpeed Cache places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 2778 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Simply Schedule Appointments 50K+ · 5.0★ (155) wp.org #1 2 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #2 3 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #3 4 Schedule Post Changes With PublishPress Future: Unpublish, Delete, Change Status, Trash, Change Categories 100K+ · 4.5★ (172) wp.org #4 5 TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625) wp.org #7 ↑4 2 too low 6 WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 SchedulePress – Auto Post & Publish, Auto Social Share, Schedule Posts with Editorial Calendar & Missed Schedule Post Publisher 10K+ · 4.6★ (201) wp.org #9 1 too low 9 WPvivid — Backup, Migration & Staging 900K+ · 4.9★ (1568) wp.org #12 ↑2 3 too low 10 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #15 ↓3 5 too low 11 Social Media Auto Poster – Schedule & Publish to Buffer 7K+ · 4.5★ (125) wp.org #11 ↓1 12 Timetable and Event Schedule by MotoPress 30K+ · 4.3★ (69) wp.org #10 ↓3 2 too high 13 Blog2Social: Social Media Auto Post & Scheduler 40K+ · 4.5★ (2107) wp.org #19 6 too low 14 PublishPress Revisions: Duplicate Posts, Submit, Approve and Schedule Content Changes 10K+ · 4.6★ (66) wp.org #13 ↑3 1 too high 15 Easy Updates Manager 300K+ · 4.8★ (726) wp.org #22 7 too low 16 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #23 ↓2 7 too low 17 WP Crontrol 300K+ · 4.4★ (167) wp.org #21 ↓3 4 too low 18 Missed Schedule Post Publisher 6K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #5 13 too high 19 MWW Scheduled Post Trigger 60K+ · 4.4★ (27) wp.org #20 ↑2 1 too low 20 Radio Station by netmix® – Manage and play your Show Schedule in WordPress! 1K+ · 4.6★ (30) wp.org #18 ↑2 2 too high 21 Publish to Schedule 3K+ · 4.3★ (23) wp.org #14 ↓1 7 too high 22 Content Update Scheduler 2K+ · 4.3★ (12) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 Snack Missed Schedule 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 ↓1 7 too high 24 Yoga Schedule Momoyoga 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 7 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.