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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “session schedule”

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 “session schedule”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Yoga Schedule Momoyoga shows at wp.org #2 but places #13 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Poptin – Email Marketing Automation, Newsletter & Exit Pop Ups, Email Popups places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 701 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 Eventin – Events Calendar, Tickets, Registration, Booking & WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (413) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too low 3 Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167) wp.org #5 ↑2 2 too low 4 Tutor LMS – eLearning and online course solution 100K+ · 4.4★ (590) wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too low 5 Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184) wp.org #4 ↑2 1 too high 6 Booking for Appointments and Events Calendar – Amelia 90K+ · 4.6★ (793) wp.org #9 ↑1 3 too low 7 Appointment Hour Booking – Booking Calendar 10K+ · 4.9★ (524) wp.org #11 ↑1 4 too low 8 Appointment Booking Plugin – LatePoint | Calendar & Scheduling for WordPress 100K+ · 4.9★ (107) wp.org #8 ↑1 9 Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992) wp.org #12 ↑2 3 too low 10 Import and export users and customers 70K+ · 4.7★ (259) wp.org #13 ↑8 3 too low 11 All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676) wp.org #18 ↑1 7 too low 12 Poptin – Email Marketing Automation, Newsletter & Exit Pop Ups, Email Popups 20K+ · 4.9★ (701) wp.org #23 ↑1 11 too low 13 Yoga Schedule Momoyoga 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #2 ↑1 11 too high 14 Royal MCP – Secure AI Connector for Claude, ChatGPT & any LLM via MCP 10K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #7 ↑1 7 too high 15 Event Booking Manager for WooCommerce – Sell Tickets, Event Registration, RSVP & Event Calendar 7K+ · 4.5★ (167) wp.org #15 16 Easy Appointment Booking & Scheduling Plugin – Webba Booking Calendar 2K+ · 4.9★ (159) wp.org #19 ↑1 3 too low 17 Fluent Booking – The Ultimate Appointments Scheduling, Events Booking, Events Calendar Solution 20K+ · 4.7★ (46) wp.org #20 ↓4 3 too low 18 Timetics – Appointment Booking Calendar & Scheduling 2K+ · 4.6★ (36) wp.org #17 ↑1 1 too high 19 Events Shortcodes For The Events Calendar 10K+ · 4.9★ (214) wp.org #22 ↓5 3 too low 20 WPBot – AI ChatBot for Live Support, Lead Generation, WordPress Automation, AI Services 5K+ · 4.7★ (124) wp.org #21 ↑2 1 too low 21 Timeline Block – tell your story with elegant timelines 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #10 ↑1 11 too high 22 Hydra Booking — Appointment Scheduling & Booking Calendar 2K+ · 4.4★ (9) wp.org #16 ↓3 6 too high 23 Atlant Security 700+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Business Hours & Holiday Schedule Manager 100+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #14 10 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.