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

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 “seats”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 6 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

Stachethemes Seat Planner Lite shows at wp.org #5 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 80+ 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

Chatway Live Chat – AI Chatbot, Customer Support, FAQ & Helpdesk Customer Service & Chat Buttons places #6 on merit, 5.0★ from 775 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 signals wp.org

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #1 2

Bus Ticket Booking with Seat Reservation 700+ · 4.9★ (41) heavy footprint wp.org #2 3

Event Booking Manager for WooCommerce – Sell Tickets, Event Registration, RSVP & Event Calendar 7K+ · 4.5★ (167) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #3 4

Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) not PHP-current wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too low 5

Five Star Restaurant Reservations – WordPress Booking Plugin 10K+ · 4.7★ (211) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #8 ↑9 3 too low 6

Chatway Live Chat – AI Chatbot, Customer Support, FAQ & Helpdesk Customer Service & Chat Buttons 30K+ · 5.0★ (775) wp.org #19 ↓1 13 too low 7

EventON – Events Calendar 6K+ · 4.1★ (44) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #4 3 too high 8

Eventin – Events Calendar, Tickets, Registration, Booking & WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (413) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #11 3 too low 9

SeatReg 300+ · 5.0★ (30) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #7 2 too high 10

Tickera – Sell Tickets & Manage Events 2K+ · 4.5★ (292) wp.org #17 ↓2 7 too low 11

Timetics – Appointment Booking Calendar & Scheduling 2K+ · 4.6★ (36) wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too high 12

WPCafe – Restaurant Menu, Online Food Ordering & Table Booking System 5K+ · 4.6★ (113) wp.org #15 ↓1 3 too low 13

Event Tickets with Ticket Scanner 1K+ · 4.8★ (24) not PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #9 ↓1 4 too high 14

EventPrime – Events Calendar, Bookings, Tickets & AI 7K+ · 4.4★ (85) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #13 ↓3 1 too high 15

morkva UA Shipping – Nova Poshta, Ukrposhta, Rozetka, Nova Global 1K+ · 4.9★ (29) wp.org #16 1 too low 16

Event Monster – Event Manager, Event Booking, Event Ticket & Registration 600+ · 4.8★ (18) not PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #14 ↓1 2 too high 17

Jetpack VideoPress 7K+ · 4.0★ (16) thin reviews wp.org #12 5 too high 18

Travelly – Tour & Travel Booking Manager for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.8★ (45) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #23 4 too low 20

Live Event Seating Lite – Seating Chart, Floor Plan, RSVP & Event Ticket 40+ · 5.0★ (12) thin reviews wp.org #21 ↓1 1 too low 21

Stachethemes Seat Planner Lite 80+ · 5.0★ (3) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #5 ↑1 16 too high 22

FluentPlayer – Video Player With Forms & Lead Capture 2K+ · 4.7★ (14) thin reviews wp.org #22 23

Evergreen Countdown Timer 2K+ · 3.6★ (14) thin reviews wp.org #18 ↓2 5 too high 24

Lime Connect (formerly Userlike) – WordPress Live Chat plugin 800+ · 4.0★ (4) thin reviews 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.