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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “share api”

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 “share api”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 5 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

ShareThis Share Buttons shows at wp.org #7 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.5★ average from 26 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 2144 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Simple Share Buttons Adder 40K+ · 4.3★ (627) wp.org #1 2 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #2 3 AddToAny Share Buttons 300K+ · 4.7★ (1114) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 Super Web Share – Native Social Sharing Button 2K+ · 4.9★ (29) wp.org #3 ↑2 1 too high 5 PixelYourSite – Your smart PIXEL (TAG) & API Manager 400K+ · 4.3★ (281) wp.org #6 ↓2 1 too low 6 Genesis Simple Share 10K+ · 4.4★ (33) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too high 7 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #15 ↓5 8 too low 8 Social Sharing Plugin – Sassy Social Share 100K+ · 4.8★ (523) wp.org #17 9 too low 9 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #24 ↓3 15 too low 10 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #16 ↑3 6 too low 11 Share Buttons & AI-powered Summaries 1K+ · 5.0★ (16) wp.org #8 3 too high 12 Highlight and Share – Unobtrusive and Lightweight Content Sharing 700+ · 4.9★ (29) wp.org #11 ↑5 1 too high 13 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #21 ↑1 8 too low 14 Contact Form to Any API 8K+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #9 5 too high 15 WP Socializer – Simple & Easy Social Media Share Icons 10K+ · 4.5★ (128) wp.org #23 8 too low 16 Custom API for WP 1K+ · 4.8★ (45) wp.org #12 ↑2 4 too high 17 Simple Social Media Share Buttons – Social Sharing for Everyone 20K+ · 4.8★ (194) wp.org #18 ↑2 1 too low 18 Cresta Social Share Counter 2K+ · 4.8★ (55) wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too low 19 JWT Authentication for WP REST API 60K+ · 4.4★ (53) wp.org #14 ↓2 5 too high 20 ShareThis Share Buttons 10K+ · 3.5★ (26) wp.org #7 13 too high 21 CoCart – Headless REST API for WooCommerce 900+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #22 ↑2 1 too low 22 Social Share Block – Help Visitors Spread Your Content Everywhere 2K+ · 4.3★ (3) wp.org #13 ↑2 9 too high 23 Easy Share Solution For WordPress 900+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 ↑1 13 too high 24 Share Cart for WooCommerce 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 4 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.