wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “secure payments”

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 “secure payments”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 8 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

GoDaddy Payments for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #12 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder places #11 on merit, 4.5★ from 7322 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #3 2 too low 2

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #5 3 too low 3

WooCommerce PayPal Payments 800K+ · 2.9★ (583) throws errorsnot PHP-current low rating, top placement wp.org #1 2 too high 4

Easy Digital Downloads – eCommerce Payments and Subscriptions made easy 40K+ · 4.7★ (591) wp.org #7 3 too low 5

WooPayments: Integrated WooCommerce Payments 800K+ · 3.4★ (177) throws errorsnot PHP-current low rating, top placement wp.org #2 3 too high 6

WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #6 7

Paid Membership Subscriptions – Effortless Memberships, Recurring Payments & Content Restriction 10K+ · 4.7★ (270) wp.org #10 3 too low 8

Accept Stripe Payments 20K+ · 4.1★ (114) wp.org #8 9

FunnelKit Payment Gateway for Stripe WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.9★ (53) wp.org #11 2 too low 10

WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway 700K+ · 3.1★ (237) throws errorsnot PHP-current low rating, top placement wp.org #4 6 too high 11

Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) not PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #15 ↑1 4 too low 12

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #16 ↓4 4 too low 13

Payment Gateway for PayPal on WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.4★ (73) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #9 4 too high 14

SureForms – Contact Form Builder, AI Forms, Payment Form, Survey & Quiz 500K+ · 4.8★ (102) wp.org #22 ↓2 8 too low 15

Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #23 8 too low 16

Payment Gateway of Stripe for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.4★ (66) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #17 1 too low 17

Paystack WooCommerce Payment Gateway 20K+ · 4.5★ (25) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #13 4 too high 18

Secure Gateway for Authorize.net and WooCommerce by Pledged Plugins 10K+ · 4.9★ (34) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #18 19

WP Express Checkout (Fast Payments via PayPal & Stripe) 1K+ · 4.9★ (32) not PHP-current wp.org #24 5 too low 20

Bitcoin Payments – Blockonomics 2K+ · 4.5★ (35) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #19 1 too high 21

GoDaddy Payments for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.3★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #12 ↑2 9 too high 22

Direct Payments for WooCommerce – Bank Transfer, Mobile Money, Crypto and Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Payments 800+ · 5.0★ (10) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #20 ↑1 2 too high 23

Monri Payments 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #14 ↑1 9 too high 24

KOMOJU Payments 1K+ · 3.0★ (2) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews 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.