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

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 meter”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 7 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

Memory Meter shows at wp.org #2 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 600+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.3★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

UsersWP – Front-end login form, User Registration, User Profile & Members Directory plugin for WP places #9 on merit, 4.7★ from 183 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Search Meter 20K+ · 4.3★ (29) wp.org #1 2 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1717) wp.org #8 ↓2 6 too low 3 Clean Login 6K+ · 4.7★ (143) wp.org #7 ↓2 4 too low 4 Ultimeter – the Ultimate Progress and Goals Meter 1K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #3 ↑4 1 too high 5 Advanced Product Fields (Product Addons) for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.8★ (283) wp.org #10 ↓1 5 too low 6 CrawlWP SEO – Complete WordPress SEO Plugin with AI, Indexing & Search Performance 30K+ · 4.7★ (60) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 ThinkRank AI SEO – AI SEO Plugin for WordPress: Schema, XML Sitemaps, Meta Tags, Search Console & Local SEO 10K+ · 4.9★ (30) wp.org #4 ↓1 3 too high 8 The Plus Addons for Elementor – Mega Menu, Header Footer, Post Grid, AI Widgets & Templates 100K+ · 4.6★ (387) wp.org #13 ↑4 5 too low 9 UsersWP – Front-end login form, User Registration, User Profile & Members Directory plugin for WP 20K+ · 4.7★ (183) wp.org #18 ↓5 9 too low 10 Featherweight 10K+ · 4.1★ (45) wp.org #6 ↓2 4 too high 11 Min Max Step Quantity Limits Manager for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.9★ (51) wp.org #12 ↓1 1 too low 12 Caddy – WooCommerce Side Cart & Free Shipping Bar 3K+ · 3.9★ (20) wp.org #9 ↓1 3 too high 13 SEO Engine – Smart SEO with AI, Schema & Redirection for WordPress 1K+ · 4.9★ (47) wp.org #22 ↓7 9 too low 14 Memory Meter 600+ · 3.3★ (4) wp.org #2 12 too high 15 Decimal Product Quantity for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.5★ (11) wp.org #11 ↓1 4 too high 16 Password Policy Manager 6K+ · 4.4★ (14) wp.org #16 17 Squad Modules Lite – Free Divi 5 & Divi 4 Modules for Divi Builder 1K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #19 ↓1 2 too low 18 Embed Lottie Player – bring your pages to life with animation 4K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #15 ↓1 3 too high 19 Cowboy MCP – Free MCP Server with Undo for Claude & ChatGPT 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 ↑4 2 too high 20 CFF Fitness and Health Operations 60+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↓2 6 too high 21 Small Package Quotes – For Customers of FedEx 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too high 22 CodeArt Units Converter 70+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 AI Sales Agent & Chatbot for WooCommerce – WPCreatix 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 REES – Real Estate for Woo 70+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↓1 3 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.