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

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 “scouts”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Scout fonts shows at wp.org #10 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Advanced Form Integration — Connect Forms to 300+ Apps places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 91 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 BetterDocs – AI Documentation, Knowledge Base, MCP Server, Docs, Wikis, FAQ & Chatbot 30K+ · 4.8★ (515) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 HuCommerce | Magyar kiegészítések WooCommerce webáruházakhoz 9K+ · 5.0★ (32) wp.org #3 4 Help Scout 300+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #1 3 too high 5 Fluent Support – Helpdesk & Customer Support Ticket System 10K+ · 4.6★ (69) wp.org #5 6 HubSpot All-In-One Marketing – Forms, Popups, Live Chat 200K+ · 4.3★ (207) wp.org #6 ↑1 7 SupportCandy – AI Customer Support Ticket System & Live Chatbot Agent 10K+ · 4.9★ (289) wp.org #11 ↑2 4 too low 8 Help Scout integration for Easy Digital Downloads 100+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #8 ↓2 9 Advanced Form Integration — Connect Forms to 300+ Apps 9K+ · 4.8★ (91) wp.org #14 5 too low 10 ERP: Complete HR, Accounting & CRM Suite Built for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.4★ (149) wp.org #12 ↓1 2 too low 11 Uncanny Automator – AI + Automation for WordPress | AI Agent, AI Page Builder, Free AI Usage Included 40K+ · 4.9★ (157) wp.org #16 ↑2 5 too low 12 ThriveDesk – Live Chat, AI Chatbot, Helpdesk & Customer Support Ticket System 100+ · 4.5★ (14) wp.org #7 ↑1 5 too high 13 Finale Lite – Sales Countdown Timer & Discount for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.7★ (151) wp.org #19 6 too low 14 Membership Plugin – Kadence Memberships 8K+ · 3.1★ (100) wp.org #9 ↑1 5 too high 15 Metorik – Reports & Email Automation for WooCommerce 9K+ · 5.0★ (20) wp.org #15 16 Chatbot for WordPress by Collect.chat ⚡️ 6K+ · 4.4★ (38) wp.org #20 ↑2 4 too low 17 Sprout Clients – CRM and Lead Management 30+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #17 18 CRM Perks – WordPress HelpDesk Integration – Zendesk, Freshdesk, HelpScout 40+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #23 5 too low 19 Scout fonts 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 ↓1 9 too high 20 Tag Scout 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↓1 7 too high 21 Kennedy Site Scout 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓2 3 too high 22 INI Scout 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓1 1 too high 23 Scout — AI Chatbot & Live Chat 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too high 24 LinkMesh: Semantic AI Internal Links for SEO 90+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24

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.