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

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 “search blocks”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

VK Blocks shows at wp.org #9 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 100K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.8★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 Otter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder for Gutenberg Editor & FSE 300K+ · 4.7★ (251) wp.org #3 4 Gutenberg Essential Blocks – Page Builder for Gutenberg Blocks & Patterns 100K+ · 4.9★ (216) wp.org #4 ↑4 5 Ultimate Blocks – 25+ Gutenberg Blocks for Block Editor 50K+ · 4.9★ (729) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 Search Exclude 50K+ · 4.8★ (218) wp.org #5 ↑6 1 too high 7 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27820) wp.org #10 ↑3 3 too low 8 Relevanssi – A Better Search 100K+ · 4.8★ (406) wp.org #8 ↓3 9 FiboSearch – Ajax Search for WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.9★ (1815) wp.org #12 ↓2 3 too low 10 Ajax Search Lite – Live Search & Filter 70K+ · 4.8★ (266) wp.org #11 ↑5 1 too low 11 Spectra Blocks – AI Website Builder for the Block Editor 60K+ · 4.6★ (53) wp.org #7 ↓3 4 too high 12 Advanced Woo Search – Product Search for WooCommerce 60K+ · 4.8★ (248) wp.org #15 ↓8 3 too low 13 Search & Filter 40K+ · 4.5★ (175) wp.org #18 ↑1 5 too low 14 GutenKit – Page Builder Blocks, Patterns, and Templates for Gutenberg Block Editor 80K+ · 4.5★ (48) wp.org #13 ↓1 1 too high 15 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #24 ↓6 9 too low 16 Custom Block Builder – Lazy Blocks 20K+ · 4.9★ (80) wp.org #19 ↓4 3 too low 17 Superb Addons: Blocks, Patterns, Pre-built Pages, Sliders, Popups, Free Forms, Animations & More 80K+ · 4.9★ (23) wp.org #14 ↑1 3 too high 18 Greenshift – animation and page builder blocks 70K+ · 4.8★ (107) wp.org #22 4 too low 19 SearchWP Live Ajax Search 40K+ · 4.7★ (36) wp.org #20 ↑2 1 too low 20 VK Blocks 100K+ · 4.8★ (6) wp.org #9 11 too high 21 Genesis Blocks 40K+ · 3.7★ (24) wp.org #21 22 Snow Monkey Blocks 30K+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #16 ↑3 6 too high 23 Qi Blocks 60K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #17 ↑4 6 too high 24 Jetpack Search 5K+ · 4.5★ (10) wp.org #23 1 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.