wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “sell content”
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 “sell content”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 4 of the top 20.
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
Force Sell for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #6 but places #12 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 600+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 17 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833)
wp.org #1 2 
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #3 1 too low 3 
Passster – Password Protect Pages and Content 10K+ · 4.2★ (60)
wp.org #2 1 too high 4 
Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012)
wp.org #4 ↑5 5 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #8 3 too low 6 
Event Booking Manager for WooCommerce – Sell Tickets, Event Registration, RSVP & Event Calendar 7K+ · 4.5★ (167)
wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too high 7 
LearnPress – WordPress LMS Plugin for Create and Sell Online Courses 70K+ · 4.3★ (597)
wp.org #7 8 
Easy Digital Downloads – eCommerce Payments and Subscriptions made easy 40K+ · 4.7★ (592)
wp.org #10 ↑1 2 too low 9 
Paid Membership Subscriptions – Effortless Memberships, Recurring Payments & Content Restriction 10K+ · 4.7★ (270)
wp.org #9 ↑1 10 
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132)
wp.org #11 ↑1 1 too low 11 
Product Feed Manager for WooCommerce – RexFeed – Sell on 200+ Shopping Channels 10K+ · 4.8★ (256)
wp.org #13 ↑7 2 too low 12 Force Sell for WooCommerce 600+ · 5.0★ (17) thin reviews
wp.org #6 ↓1 6 too high 13 
User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (832)
wp.org #19 6 too low 14 
WP Event Manager – Events Calendar, Registrations, Sell Tickets with WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.0★ (249)
wp.org #12 ↑1 2 too high 15 
Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery 300K+ · 4.3★ (4342)
wp.org #23 8 too low 16 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #14 ↓8 2 too high 17 
Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184)
wp.org #16 ↑2 1 too high 18 
Tickera – Sell Tickets & Manage Events 2K+ · 4.5★ (292)
wp.org #17 ↓2 1 too high 19 
AI Puffer – AI Chatbot & MCP Server for Claude and ChatGPT 10K+ · 4.6★ (166)
wp.org #18 ↑3 1 too high 20 
Tutor LMS – eLearning and online course solution 100K+ · 4.4★ (590)
wp.org #22 ↓8 2 too low 21 
Sell Downloads 100+ · 4.0★ (21) thin reviews
wp.org #15 ↑1 6 too high 22 
Membership Plugin – Kadence Memberships 8K+ · 3.1★ (100)
wp.org #20 ↑3 2 too high 23 
Content Pilot – Autoblogging & Affiliate Marketing Suite 700+ · 3.6★ (36)
wp.org #21 ↑1 2 too high 24 
WPC Force Sells for WooCommerce 600+ · 5.0★ (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.