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

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 filter”, 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

VK Filter Search shows at wp.org #12 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 12 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

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 27821 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Filter Everything — WordPress & WooCommerce Filters 50K+ · 4.6★ (154) wp.org #1 2 Search & Filter 40K+ · 4.5★ (175) wp.org #2 3 Ajax Search Lite – Live Search & Filter 70K+ · 4.8★ (266) wp.org #3 4 Search Regex 100K+ · 4.7★ (101) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Search Exclude 50K+ · 4.8★ (218) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 YMC Filter 4K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #4 2 too high 7 Product Filter for WooCommerce by WBW 50K+ · 4.8★ (325) wp.org #9 2 too low 8 HUSKY – Products Filter for WooCommerce Professional. MCP is onboard 80K+ · 4.6★ (337) wp.org #6 2 too high 9 Relevanssi – A Better Search 100K+ · 4.8★ (406) wp.org #11 2 too low 10 Better Search Replace 1M+ · 4.3★ (546) wp.org #8 2 too high 11 Category AJAX Filter – Posts, Custom Post Types & Product Filter 6K+ · 4.9★ (158) wp.org #10 1 too high 12 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #19 7 too low 13 FiboSearch – Ajax Search for WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.9★ (1815) wp.org #17 ↑1 4 too low 14 Portfolio Filter Gallery – Photo Gallery 20K+ · 4.8★ (348) wp.org #21 7 too low 15 Blog Filter – Post Grid Filter by Category or Tag 7K+ · 4.9★ (81) wp.org #15 ↑1 16 Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #16 ↓3 17 Advanced Woo Search – Product Search for WooCommerce 60K+ · 4.8★ (248) wp.org #20 3 too low 18 BP Profile Search 5K+ · 5.0★ (71) wp.org #24 ↓1 6 too low 19 WP Maps – Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, Mapbox, Store Locator with Search, Filters & Listings 60K+ · 4.3★ (122) wp.org #14 ↑1 5 too high 20 Events Search & Filter Bar for The Events Calendar 3K+ · 4.8★ (29) wp.org #13 ↑1 7 too high 21 WP Search with Algolia 7K+ · 4.5★ (24) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 Jetpack Search 5K+ · 4.5★ (10) wp.org #18 ↓1 4 too high 23 Better Post & Filter Widgets for Elementor 4K+ · 5.0★ (18) wp.org #23 ↓1 24 VK Filter Search 6K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #12 12 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.